Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases 13,743 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,743 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $22.28 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.72%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer 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.