Pingora Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Pingora Partners LLC increased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 45.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,970 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,275 shares during the quarter. Pfizer makes up about 1.4% of Pingora Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Pingora Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 61,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 46,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 251,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 126,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 294,467 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.56 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average is $27.68 and its 200 day moving average is $28.45. The company has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.