Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stake Lessened by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 887 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter worth about $172,902,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 181.6% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,670,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $212,855,000 after acquiring an additional 4,947,000 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 21.8% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,813,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $438,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 24,961.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,497,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487,919 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $29.22 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $165.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -487.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.44.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,800.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.91.

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.