Advocate Group LLC raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 341,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,548 shares during the quarter. Pfizer makes up about 1.7% of Advocate Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during 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 buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth about $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Pfizer by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
PFE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.
Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %
Pfizer stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day moving average is $27.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Pfizer Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
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.
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