Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 189,942 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 740,180 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 189,942 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $19,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,499,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 48,281 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 190,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,517,000 after purchasing an additional 22,068 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South grew its position in Pfizer by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 28,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pfizer by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $23.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.82. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.19%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.64.

About Pfizer

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.