Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 156,298 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,257,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,298 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $31,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 114,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,034,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $23.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Company 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.