Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Purchased by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 588,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 63,359 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $14,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 8.6% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,003,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,735,000 after acquiring an additional 158,262 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 85.6% in the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 190,608 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,830,000 after acquiring an additional 87,937 shares during the last quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 62.6% in the first quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC now owns 139,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,546,000 after acquiring an additional 53,894 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.8% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,899,841 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $73,482,000 after acquiring an additional 132,371 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC decreased their price target on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.12.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.1%

Pfizer stock opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $30.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 91.49%.

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.