Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Position Cut by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 27,468 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 226.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,209,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $179,715,000 after buying an additional 4,309,076 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.1 %

PFE opened at $26.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.62 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.27 and a 200-day moving average of $27.85. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.44%.

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.