Westover Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,989 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,375 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 394.2% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Pfizer by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after buying an additional 639,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.72 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.32 and a 200 day moving average of $27.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.