Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,678,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 261,847 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $177,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,071,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $108,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,822 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake in Pfizer by 118.7% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 294,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,820,000 after buying an additional 159,984 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $577,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 9,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,395,000 after acquiring an additional 48,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.07.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $22.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released 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 return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Pfizer

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.