Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Increases Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 120.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,498,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,459,666 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $130,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Pfizer by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Pfizer by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,560,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $477,929,000 after buying an additional 456,168 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $417,561,000 after buying an additional 470,003 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,260,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $287,077,000 after acquiring an additional 238,850 shares during the period. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,803,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $274,302,000 after acquiring an additional 912,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $28.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.62. 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, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pfizer 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.