Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,918,326 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 757,792 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,059,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.67 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFE. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.