Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Pfizer stake by 0.8% in the first quarter, adding 293,029 shares and bringing its holding to 36.4 million shares valued at about $1.02 billion.
• Pfizer’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $0.75 versus $0.72 expected and revenue of $14.45 billion versus $13.84 billion estimated. The company also reiterated FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: Pfizer has a consensus Hold rating and a consensus price target of $28.50, while its quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share implies a high 6.9% yield.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,422,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 293,029 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.64% of Pfizer worth $1,022,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Pfizer by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after acquiring an additional 14,342,946 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 13,581,757 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 577.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $218,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,489,189 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Pfizer by 51.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PFE. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $25.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.18. The stock has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.35. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $23.11 and a one year high of $28.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid 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 yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 131.30%.

Key Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to focus on Pfizer’s pipeline potential, with articles asking whether the company can strengthen its growth story through new drug development and recent approvals, which could support a longer-term rebound. Can Pfizer NYSE: PFE Strengthen Its Pipeline Story?
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer remains attractive to income-focused investors, with coverage highlighting it as a high-yield dividend stock and a potential “buy on the dip” name, which may help limit downside. 3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are still modeling solid full-year earnings, but Erste Group slightly trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate for Pfizer to $2.92 from $2.95, signaling only a small downward revision versus the consensus of $2.96.
• Neutral Sentiment: Another valuation-focused note said Pfizer looks “fairly priced” given mixed pipeline risks, suggesting the stock may not be obviously cheap despite its lower valuation and high dividend.
• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer suspended sales of Premarin vaginal cream in India because of supply challenges, adding another operational headwind for the company. Pfizer suspends sales of Premarin vaginal cream in India, citing supply challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Arbutus Biopharma filed international patent lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech over lipid nanoparticle technology used in mRNA vaccines, keeping legal risk and potential costs in focus for PFE. Arbutus Initiates International Patent Infringement Enforcement Actions Against Pfizer and BioNTech...

Pfizer Company Profile

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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