Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,943 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,544 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted 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 shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $25.53 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $27.69.

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

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.