Certuity LLC Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 170.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 150,810 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,068 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.53 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.69. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

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.