Verus Financial Partners Inc. Sells 796 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 796 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $30,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 52,350.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE remained flat at $27.85 during trading on Thursday. 15,480,966 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,225,629. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.12. The firm has a market cap of $157.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -463.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $40.37.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.58% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently -2,799.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, April 15th. Guggenheim began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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.