Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Position Reduced by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mcdonald Partners LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 9,963 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Harvey Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $544,000. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,013,230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,881,000 after buying an additional 331,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 128.7% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 115,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after buying an additional 65,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

PFE stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $132.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

About Pfizer

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.