Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 804,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 165,611 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $23,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.65 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $145.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

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.