Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 280,465 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners cut its Pfizer stake by 52.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 280,465 shares and leaving it with 256,537 shares valued at about $6.39 million.
• Pfizer reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.75 versus estimates of $0.72 and revenue of $14.45 billion versus $13.84 billion expected. The company also reaffirmed its FY 2026 guidance of $2.80 to $3.00 EPS.
• Pfizer recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 6.8%. Despite mixed analyst views, the stock currently carries a consensus rating of Hold with a target price of $28.82.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 52.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,537 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 280,465 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Pfizer by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $218,817,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489,189 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $143.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.33. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.11 and a 1 year high of $28.75.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.30%.

More Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer reaffirmed its 2026 guidance and said its strategic outlook remains intact, which should help limit downside if investors focus on fundamentals rather than the management change. Pfizer stock slides following CFO exit, 2026 guidance reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: The company moved quickly to appoint an interim finance chief, suggesting Pfizer has a planned transition process in place rather than a broader disruption to operations. Pfizer Announces Chief Financial Officer Transition
• Neutral Sentiment: News coverage also noted that Pfizer’s recent move is part of a broader investor debate about the company’s near-term growth catalysts and pipeline execution, rather than a change to its core business outlook. Reuters coverage of CFO departure
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest overhang is the unexpected departure of the CFO, which can create uncertainty about financial discipline and near-term investor confidence, helping explain why PFE has been declining. Pfizer CFO to leave company for consumer goods role

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Argus raised Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. HSBC raised their price target on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.82.

About Pfizer

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.