Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 18,309 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 54.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,309 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lipe & Dalton grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 114,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 16,357 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.88. 37,053,994 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,201,002. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.93. The company has a market cap of $135.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

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.