AIA Group Ltd Sells 15,410 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 254,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,410 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFE. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $439,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $1,009,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 554,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,378,000 after buying an additional 115,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $482,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PFE opened at $27.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.96 and a 200 day moving average of $28.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

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.