Triangle Securities Wealth Management Trims Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,015 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,793 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $26.30 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.99. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

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.