Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,863,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 872,530 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for approximately 2.0% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.07% of Pfizer worth $102,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Pfizer Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE:PFE opened at $22.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. 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 $126.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.72%. Pfizer's 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.

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