Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 50.6%, selling over 5 million shares during the second quarter, leaving them with approximately 4.97 million shares valued at $120.39 million.
• Despite Assenagon's sell-off, several other institutional investors increased their positions, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, indicating a mixed sentiment towards Pfizer's stock.
• Pfizer recently reported earnings exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 10.3% year-over-year revenue increase, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, resulting in a 7.2% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 50.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,966,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,079,768 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Pfizer worth $120,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 856.8% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,957,928 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Pfizer by 43.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,265,277,000 after acquiring an additional 15,758,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $389,861,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,456,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $670,407,000 after buying an additional 9,041,990 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 523,165,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,257,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,629,976 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 86,201,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,901,288. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $30.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $24.63 and its 200-day moving average is $24.21. The company has a market capitalization of $136.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.55.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Berenberg Bank cut their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.12.

Pfizer 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.