Sheets Smith Wealth Management Cuts Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,926 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 833.4% in the fourth quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV now owns 133,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after buying an additional 119,262 shares in the last quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,710 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 26,145 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $181,000. Provence Wealth Management Group lifted its position in Pfizer by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 9,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,630,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.35 on Monday, reaching $28.16. The stock had a trading volume of 23,442,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,916,008. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -466.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.88 and a 200 day moving average of $28.16.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.58% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

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.