BlackRock Inc. Buys 31,412,883 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• BlackRock increased its Pfizer stake by 6.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 31.4 million additional shares and bringing its holdings to 529.7 million shares, or approximately 9.29% of the company.
• Pfizer beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.77 EPS and $15.03 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a 6.1% annualized yield.
• Despite pipeline progress and substantial institutional ownership, analyst sentiment remains cautious: Pfizer has a consensus “Hold” rating, with concerns including patent expirations, legal liabilities and a high dividend payout ratio.

BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,412,883 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.29% of Pfizer worth $12,754,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after buying an additional 13,581,757 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 577.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $218,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,489,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,433,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $533,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.8%

Pfizer stock opened at $28.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.25. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Pfizer's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 226.32%.

Key Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer completed a Phase 1/2 study of PF-07868489, an experimental treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The milestone supports early-stage pipeline progress, though additional clinical testing will be needed before any potential commercialization. Pfizer’s PF-07868489 PAH Study Reaches Completion
• Positive Sentiment: Several additional clinical updates highlighted progress across Pfizer’s development portfolio: completion of a Phase 1 atirmociclib study, completion of a drug-interaction study for PF-07248144, and a new Phase 1 liver study for atirmociclib. These milestones may reinforce confidence in Pfizer’s ability to replenish revenue as older products face competition. Atirmociclib Study Update PF-07248144 Study Update
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer is also expanding real-world evidence efforts for prostate cancer therapies, Ibrance in advanced breast cancer, and a migraine treatment study in India. These studies could support broader use and strengthen commercial evidence for existing medicines. Pfizer Real-World Prostate Cancer Study
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-oriented coverage remains constructive, citing Pfizer’s roughly 19% year-to-date gain, attractive dividend yield, and reported hedge-fund buying. The stock’s move toward its 52-week high suggests improving sentiment. Hedge Funds Buying Pfizer
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity may increase short-term trading interest, but it does not establish a clear fundamental direction for PFE. Pfizer Options Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of settlements involving thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits raises concerns about potential legal costs and ongoing liability. Analysts also continue to weigh whether new drugs and acquisitions can offset revenue losses from expiring patents. Pfizer Legal Claims

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC downgraded Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

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.

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