Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 505,564 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 55,677 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $14,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 188,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,457 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Pfizer by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 439,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,682 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $442,000. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,007,000 after acquiring an additional 18,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 304,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 42,083 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.36 on Monday, reaching $28.17. The company had a trading volume of 59,821,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,254,852. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.51 billion, a PE ratio of -469.50, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $40.37. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $26.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.14.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.58% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently -2,800.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Argus downgraded Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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.

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