Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 877,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 369,044 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $23,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PFE opened at $25.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.74.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 6.68%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFE. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer 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.