First City Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,368 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFE. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

PFE stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $132.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.00. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 124.64%.

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.