Secure Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Secure Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 63.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 55,373 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $23.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.02.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.64%.

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.