Verity Asset Management Inc. Buys 15,364 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,364 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the first quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.4 %

PFE stock opened at $27.46 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.