First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,002 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,439 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Holistic Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 215.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 46,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 31,681 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,382,000. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Pfizer by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 50,745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Beckerman Institutional LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

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.