Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Purchased by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 348,703 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,093 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $274,694,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,148,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $564,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0 %

PFE stock opened at $26.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.26. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $148.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

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.