Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stake Lifted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 174.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,202,086 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,399,527 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Pfizer were worth $61,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,007,000 after buying an additional 18,611 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,166,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 74,487 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 13,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 3,933 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.43. 42,364,712 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,871,120. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.84. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $37.19. The company has a market cap of $172.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -507.08, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.31% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given 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 yield of 5.52%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

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.