Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 75,446,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,055,880 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.33% of Pfizer worth $1,911,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after buying an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,190,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923,537 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,328,986,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 58,382,560 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,548,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 39,402,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,045,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,740 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.55.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of PFE traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.36. The company had a trading volume of 25,894,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,769,910. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.78. The stock has a market cap of $144.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

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.