Arax Advisory Partners Trims Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Arax Advisory Partners cut its Pfizer stake by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 74,022 shares valued at about $1.84 million.
• Pfizer’s fundamentals were mixed but solid: the company beat Q1 earnings and revenue expectations, and its stock was recently trading around $26 with a market cap of $148.24 billion.
• Wall Street remains cautious, with analysts holding a consensus “Hold” rating and a $28.82 average price target, even as Pfizer pays a high dividend yield of 6.6% and faces concerns over patent cliffs and fading COVID-related sales.

Arax Advisory Partners decreased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 82,973 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners' holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Pfizer by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 47.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Pfizer by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,433,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $533,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PFE. CICC Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.82.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.01 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.11 and a twelve month high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 131.30%.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s CEO said the company could eventually return to high-single-digit growth, suggesting the business may be stronger than investors expect and improving the long-term growth narrative. Here's When Pfizer's CEO Says the Company Might Get Back to Generating High-Single-Digit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s obesity pipeline got a boost after Phase 2b data for berobenatide showed proof of concept, favorable tolerability, and support for moving into Phase 3, which could add a new growth driver. Pfizer Obesity Pipeline Gains Traction As Berobenatide Data Support Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital upgraded Pfizer, reinforcing the view that the stock’s dividend and valuation may be attractive relative to peers. Pfizer (PFE) Upgraded at RBC Capital. Here is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer is drawing heavy investor search interest and additional research coverage, indicating rising attention but not necessarily a direct fundamental catalyst. Investors Heavily Search Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to focus on Pfizer’s discounted valuation, fading COVID revenues, and looming patent expirations, leaving the stock’s longer-term rerating story still uncertain. Is Pfizer's Discounted Valuation a Buying Opportunity or a Value Trap?
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer was also included in a “Top Research Reports” roundup, which adds visibility but does not appear to change the investment thesis on its own. Top Research Reports for Pfizer, Altria & Newmont Corp.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing concerns about patent cliffs and declining legacy COVID-related sales continue to cap enthusiasm for Pfizer’s near-term earnings growth. Is Pfizer's Discounted Valuation a Buying Opportunity or a Value Trap?

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc NYSE: PFE is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer's portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.

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