Assetmark Inc. Cuts Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Assetmark Inc. decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,145,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 838,495 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $119,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after acquiring an additional 8,473,686 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,817,055,000 after purchasing an additional 348,628 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $2,129,927,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,972,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 30.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,054,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $797,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,678,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.53. 22,414,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,669,906. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.20 and a 200 day moving average of $27.99. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $40.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $161.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -477.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.86.

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.