Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases 13,743 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 13,743 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton raised its stake in Pfizer by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE PFE traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $23.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,367,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,672,216. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.52. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is 124.64%.

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.