Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by SJS Investment Consulting Inc.

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,442 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 6.6% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 95,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 5,932 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $738,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,435 shares in the last quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $499,000. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $311,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

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.