Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 638,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 55,442 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $17,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $172,902,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 181.6% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,670,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $212,855,000 after buying an additional 4,947,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 248.7% in the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 5,796,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,837,000 after buying an additional 4,133,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $29.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $168.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -495.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.68. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $34.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its 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 negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.54.

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.