Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Trims Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its Pfizer stake by 37.1% in the first quarter, selling 2.67 million shares and ending with 4.53 million shares worth about $127.1 million.
• Pfizer’s pipeline news was mixed but mostly encouraging: PF-08057418 cleared a Phase 1 safety milestone, PF-08653945 moved into an early obesity trial, and the FDA granted Priority Review for Talzenna plus Xtandi in metastatic prostate cancer.
• The stock remains under pressure and Wall Street is cautious, with shares down 1.9% to $24.52, a consensus “Hold” rating, and a target price of $28.50 despite the company beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,526,927 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,668,369 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.08% of Pfizer worth $127,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 132.2% in the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 994 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer announced that PF-08057418 cleared a Phase 1 safety milestone, which helps reinforce confidence in the company’s research pipeline and early-stage development prospects. Article: Pfizer’s PF-08057418 Clears Phase 1 Safety Milestone, Offering a Quiet Boost to Pipeline Confidence
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer is advancing PF-08653945 into an early-stage obesity trial, giving investors another potential growth driver in a large and competitive therapeutic market. Article: Pfizer Advances New Obesity Shot With Early Stage Trial of PF-08653945
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Priority Review to Pfizer’s Talzenna plus Xtandi regimen for metastatic prostate cancer, which improves the odds of a faster regulatory decision and supports oncology revenue upside if approved. Article: FDA Grants Priority Review for Pfizer’s TALZENNA Plus XTANDI for the Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call option activity suggests traders are positioning for a move in Pfizer shares, but it does not by itself confirm a fundamental change in the company’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary on Pfizer’s dividend yield and oncology valuation highlights that investors are still weighing income appeal against execution and growth concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Expanded patent litigation tied to Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine business remains a potential overhang, adding legal and operational uncertainty that could pressure sentiment if the dispute escalates. Article: Pfizer (PFE) Faces Expanded Vaccine Lawsuits On A Fair Value Narrative That Still Sees Upside

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PFE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $24.52 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.11 and a 12 month high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.11 and a 200-day moving average of $26.16.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 131.30%.

Pfizer Profile

Pfizer Inc NYSE: PFE is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer's portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.

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