Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 642,199 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,151,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 642,199 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,059,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $172,902,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Pfizer by 164.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Pfizer by 24,961.6% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,497,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487,919 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company 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, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $24.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.61. The firm has a market cap of $141.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

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.