Advisory Alpha LLC Acquires 737 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 737 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Pfizer by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,972,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 181.6% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,670,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $212,855,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.08. 6,668,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,837,461. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.72. The stock has a market cap of $164.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -477.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $37.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The company’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.78%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.69.

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.