Palisade Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,095 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Pfizer by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 277,480 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 83,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 11,849 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after buying an additional 8,473,686 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 188,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Pfizer by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 439,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Argus lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, reaching $28.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 38,630,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,437,793. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $40.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.12. The company has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -466.42, 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 (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. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,799.53%.

Pfizer Company 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.