Asset Dedication LLC Boosts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 107.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,896 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 226.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,209,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $179,715,000 after buying an additional 4,309,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim cut their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $26.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.91. The firm has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

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.