RNC Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

RNC Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position 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 during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $25.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.78. The firm has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve 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 data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer 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.