RNC Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

RNC Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 75.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,453 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 40,660 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.78. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.66%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.