Martin Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Martin Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 190,573 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,344 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for 1.8% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 523,165,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,257,004,000 after buying an additional 4,629,976 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 62,325,957 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,579,340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,943,397 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,265,277,000 after acquiring an additional 15,758,846 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 39,402,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,045,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,740 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 30,296,337 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $767,709,000 after acquiring an additional 838,198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 3.8%

Pfizer stock opened at $23.91 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $30.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.27.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.12.

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.