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

Avestar Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,822 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew 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 last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PFE shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $25.64 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.63. The firm has a market cap of $145.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase 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 currently 121.99%.

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.