Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 260,263 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a stake in Pfizer Inc., purchasing 260,263 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million in the first quarter.
• Pfizer's stock is currently trading at $24.33, with a market cap of $138.33 billion and an average target price from analysts of $28.55.
• Pfizer is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share on September 2nd, reflecting a 7.07% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 124.64%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 260,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $6,595,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 856.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after acquiring an additional 17,957,928 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $407,730,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $254,574,000 after buying an additional 7,581,030 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in Pfizer by 1,106.0% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,619,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $143,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153,257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.49. The company had a trading volume of 40,889,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,301,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC reduced their price target on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic decreased their price target on Pfizer from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.28.

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.