Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 34,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake 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 period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PFE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $25.53 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.69. 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. The stock has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

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.