Avestar Capital LLC Sells 9,822 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Avestar Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,822 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $25.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.