Welch Group LLC Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,986,914 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,141 shares during the quarter. Pfizer comprises approximately 2.0% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $50,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curio Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 36,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Pfizer in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.06.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PFE stock opened at $25.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $143.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.86. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $27.69.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.94 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 20.17%. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.