Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys 63,670 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 381.0% during the 1st quarter, owning 80,383 shares worth approximately $2.04 million.
• Pfizer reported earnings of $0.78 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend yielding 7.0%.
• Recent research reports have affected Pfizer’s stock ratings, with some analysts raising price targets, while others have issued hold or sell ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold".

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 381.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,383 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 63,670 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Gould Capital LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $24.84. The company had a trading volume of 36,770,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,782,688. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $30.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.12.

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.