Ieq Capital LLC Has $8.50 Million Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 320,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,117 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $8,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,284,000 after purchasing an additional 37,636 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 6.7% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,198 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 21,533 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 23,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at $146,481,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $25.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.28 and its 200-day moving average is $27.44. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Shareholders 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 a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.65%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.