Associated Banc Corp Lowers Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp has reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 12.6%, selling 28,318 shares, and now owns 195,644 shares valued at approximately $4.96 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Pfizer's stock, with average price targets ranging from $24.00 to $28.00, and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Pfizer reported earnings of $0.78 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $14.65 billion, a 10.3% increase year-over-year.

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,644 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 28,318 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 11.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,817,000 after buying an additional 17,032 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $8,283,000. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in Pfizer by 69.6% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 31,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 8.7% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,176,000 after buying an additional 10,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.3%

PFE traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.25. 45,468,611 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,190,364. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.52.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.44.

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.