Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Pfizer Inc. by 21.1%, owning a total of 151,148 shares valued at approximately $3.66 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors are also enhancing their positions in Pfizer, with 68.36% of the stock currently held by such firms.
• Pfizer announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.9%, with a payout ratio of 91.49%.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 21.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,354 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.9% during the second quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in Pfizer by 0.9% in the second quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 46,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 29,386 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 10,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 93,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Pfizer from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.35.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $24.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $29.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day moving average of $24.12. The stock has a market cap of $141.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.55.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.49%.

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.

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