Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 101,074 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 492,285 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 101,074 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $12,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $274,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.62 on Monday, hitting $23.97. 42,513,190 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,022,927. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.00. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $136.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.18%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.