Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,142,608 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 58,160 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $30,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $150.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day moving average is $28.01.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Pfizer 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.