International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 4,836,039 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

International Assets Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 95.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,491 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,836,039 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in 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 during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.78. 7,624,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,082,521. The stock has a market cap of $151.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.27 and a 200-day moving average of $28.07. 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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.