Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,154 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 13.9% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 143,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Summit X LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 86.6% in the first quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 27,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 12,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 13.5% in the first quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.59. The stock had a trading volume of 47,333,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,955,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.77. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.99%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PFE. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.55.

About Pfizer

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.