Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New $4.32 Million Investment in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 165,929 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.41. The stock has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, 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 for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 is 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PFE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.