ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires New Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has purchased 597,954 shares of Pfizer Inc., valued at approximately $15.15 million, indicating a growing interest in the biopharmaceutical company.
• The average target price for Pfizer stock is $28.28, with a current average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Pfizer reported a quarterly EPS of $0.78, exceeding analyst estimates, along with a revenue of $14.65 billion, marking a 10.3% increase year-over-year.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 597,954 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $15,151,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth 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. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the first quarter worth about $28,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFE. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.44.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,468,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,190,364. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $137.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.52. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $30.43.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 124.64%.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.