Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 7,624 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,161 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,624 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 1.3% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 47,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 38,772 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 55,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 58,543 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $254,574,000 after acquiring an additional 7,581,030 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE PFE opened at $24.30 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.98. 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 cap of $138.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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 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. 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 for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

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.