Bellecapital International Ltd. Sells 20,363 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bellecapital International Ltd. trimmed its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 175,840 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,363 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.43 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.35 and a 200-day moving average of $27.33.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS 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 company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.