Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 4,009,711 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management significantly increased its Pfizer stake in Q1, buying 4.01 million additional shares and lifting its holdings to 6.07 million shares worth about $170.5 million.
• Pfizer’s stock has received a mixed analyst view, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.82 despite several recent target adjustments.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also offering a 7.2% annualized dividend yield; however, shares remain under pressure near $24 and recent pipeline news has been mixed.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 194.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,073,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,009,711 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.11% of Pfizer worth $170,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 174.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.82.

Trending Headlines about Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer won FDA approval for an expanded IBRANCE regimen in metastatic breast cancer, a meaningful commercial and pipeline win for its oncology franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: The company advanced a pediatric pneumococcal “catch-up” vaccine into Phase 3, adding another potential growth catalyst to the pipeline.
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer declared a $0.43 third-quarter dividend, extending its long streak of quarterly payouts and supporting the stock’s income profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer reaffirmed its FY 2026 outlook despite leadership change chatter, which may help reassure investors but does not materially change the near-term growth story.
• Negative Sentiment: Sigvotatug vedotin missed its primary survival goal in Phase 3 lung cancer testing, renewing concerns about Pfizer’s oncology pipeline momentum and contributing to the stock’s weakness. Article Title

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $24.05 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.31. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.11 and a 52-week high of $28.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.30%.

About Pfizer

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.