Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Acquires 8,832 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 95.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,832 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Pfizer by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 28,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 186,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,887 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at $577,000. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 580,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,801,000 after acquiring an additional 15,160 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $150.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.07.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.14.

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.