Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,270 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,030 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,270 shares during the quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,284,000 after acquiring an additional 37,636 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 200.3% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 23,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,781 shares during the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth $2,947,000. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 2,579 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.50 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.