First Merchants Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

First Merchants Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,116 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Pfizer were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE PFE opened at $25.22 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $30.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $143.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $24.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.14.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Pfizer's payout ratio is currently 91.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFE. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.41.

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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