Chase Investment Counsel Corp Purchases Shares of 182,784 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 182,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,289,000. Pfizer comprises approximately 1.8% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $172,902,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 24,961.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,497,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Pfizer by 120.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,498,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,666 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE PFE opened at $26.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.68. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results 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 for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

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.