V Square Quantitative Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 8,788 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter worth $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $25.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $27.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.