First Manhattan CO. LLC. Trims Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in Pfizer by 7.8%, selling 32,967 shares and holding 389,734 shares valued at approximately $9.88 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 68.36% of Pfizer's stock, with notable increases in holdings from Vanguard Group, Northern Trust, and Deutsche Bank during the first quarter.
• Pfizer recently reported $0.78 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share with a yield of 7.0%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 32,967 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 144,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 20,225 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 416,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,546,000 after acquiring an additional 18,696 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 87,506 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,086,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,365,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.7%

PFE stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.94. 44,247,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,145,636. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $30.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's payout ratio is currently 91.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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. HSBC lowered their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.12.

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.