Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. by 20.5%, selling 53,100 shares and leaving it with 205,586 shares valued at approximately $5.21 million.
• Pfizer's recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting an earnings per share of $0.92 against a consensus estimate of $0.67, although revenue declined by 7.8% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.94%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 124.64%.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 53,100 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1,282.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,677,000 after purchasing an additional 618,117 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 76,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,177 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 13,865 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.79. 35,628,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,205,096. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.68. The company has a market cap of $140.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.55.

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.