Empirical Finance LLC Has $5.13 Million Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,602 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% during the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.76 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.74. The firm has a market cap of $145.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average 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.