Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 107,429,526 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. sold 107,429,526 shares of Pfizer Inc., reducing its holdings by 69.1%, leaving them with approximately 0.85% of the company valued at over $1.2 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Pfizer’s stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $28.44.
• Pfizer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, which represents a yield of 7.1% and is scheduled to be paid on September 2nd.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 69.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,029,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 107,429,526 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of Pfizer worth $1,217,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,282.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,677,000 after buying an additional 618,117 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in Pfizer by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,788,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $180,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,801 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 339,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 11,502 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.25. The stock had a trading volume of 45,468,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,190,364. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $30.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.42 and its 200 day moving average is $24.52. The stock has a market cap of $137.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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 analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 91.49%.

About Pfizer

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.