Pfizer Inc. $PFE Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,976,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,293 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $50,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Curio Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 36,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $27.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $27.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.19. The company has a market capitalization of $156.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.47.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 12.42%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.