Comerica Bank Sells 176,740 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Comerica Bank lowered its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,831,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 176,740 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Pfizer were worth $48,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $274,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Pfizer by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 1,106.0% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,619,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $143,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153,257 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.64.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % 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 hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.19. 41,672,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,568,476. 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 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $137.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.39 and its 200 day moving average is $25.82.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

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.