Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Grows Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,401 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted 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 buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.09 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The stock has a market cap of $147.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.