First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 40,783 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 21.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232,115 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,783 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.84. The company has a market capitalization of $137.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.

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