Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $922,000 in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 34,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 226.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,209,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $179,715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.69. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business’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 company posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.74%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.