Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 186.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,647 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Pfizer were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.46. 56,576,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,090,161. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.07. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $133.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.33%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.64%.

Pfizer 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.