Addenda Capital Inc. Increases Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Addenda Capital Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,713 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,025 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $274,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,029,604,000 after acquiring an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, reaching $23.45. 30,415,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,047,102. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.12 and a 200 day moving average of $25.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's 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.