Focus Financial Network Inc. Sells 5,068 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,068 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE PFE opened at $25.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.74%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

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.