World Equity Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 89,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,729 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,564,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 75,588 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,005,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 23,267 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 26,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Members Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Members Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,436,000 after buying an additional 82,691 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.41. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

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. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFE. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial decreased 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 cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.