Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $373.43 Million Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,075,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 956,873 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $373,427,000 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $25.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.29 and its 200 day moving average is $27.78.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.66%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 232.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.