Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Acquired by Meridian Financial Partners LLC

Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 72,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 8,320 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Pfizer by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,257,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,866,000 after acquiring an additional 156,298 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in Pfizer by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 330,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,381,000 after acquiring an additional 31,344 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in Pfizer by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,396 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 36,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.95 and its 200-day moving average is $25.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 124.64%.

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.