Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Holdings Lifted by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,210,009 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,694 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $32,102,000 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 stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PFE stock opened at $25.50 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.54. 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 company has a market capitalization 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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.