Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Acquired by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 261,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,129,927,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Pfizer by 1.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,104,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,593,000 after purchasing an additional 290,760 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $417,561,000 after purchasing an additional 470,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $287,077,000 after purchasing an additional 238,850 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $29.27 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $34.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.12. The company has a market capitalization of $165.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -487.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.54.

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.