Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 6,460 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 143,960 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,460 shares during the quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFE. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.7%

PFE stock opened at $24.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $141.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.55. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $29.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day moving average of $24.14.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Pfizer from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.35.

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.