Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 14,218 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,218 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $132.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.32.

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 net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.28.

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.