Vicus Capital Has $235,000 Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Vicus Capital lessened its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,467 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,007,000 after purchasing an additional 18,611 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Pfizer by 40.5% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,739,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $157,215,000 after buying an additional 1,365,295 shares during the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $16,166,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,004,000 after buying an additional 74,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $27.98 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.68. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $37.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -466.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFE. Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.54.

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.