Ascent Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 47%, bringing its total shares to 102,350 valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Gould Capital LLC and GKV Capital Management, have also significantly increased their stakes in Pfizer, reflecting a broader interest from hedge funds.
• Pfizer recently reported $0.78 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS.

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 47.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 32,713 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gould Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.12.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of PFE opened at $24.55 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $30.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.85 and a 200 day moving average of $24.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.49%.

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.

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