WealthTrust Axiom LLC Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,607 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,112 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up 1.2% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 81.2% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 64,161 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 28,752 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 290,204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,355,000 after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 377,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,875,000 after purchasing an additional 13,266 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,984,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $373,813,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265,276 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 132,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,801,000 after purchasing an additional 34,783 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PFE. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.33.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.65. 25,345,365 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,798,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $40.37. The company has a market capitalization of $145.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.31.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 466.67%.

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.