Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,446,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,055,880 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,911,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.55.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $25.65 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.78. The company has a market cap of $145.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

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.