Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $2.99 Million Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,107 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,986 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $274,694,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Pfizer by 307.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $254,574,000 after acquiring an additional 7,581,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.5%

Pfizer stock opened at $24.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $141.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

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.