EP Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,347 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 29,454 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth $389,861,000. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $407,730,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 51.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,456,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $670,407,000 after buying an additional 9,041,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $254,574,000 after buying an additional 7,581,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.12.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $24.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $141.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $30.43.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 91.49%.

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.

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