MUFG Securities EMEA plc Trims Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc has significantly reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 54.6%, selling 476,100 shares, leaving it with 395,999 shares valued at approximately $10 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 68.36% of Pfizer's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Goldman Sachs, which boosted its stake by 51.9%.
• Analysts' price targets for Pfizer vary, with the average target currently at $28.12, and the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lowered its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 54.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 476,100 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Pfizer were worth $10,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 523,165,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,257,004,000 after buying an additional 4,629,976 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 58,382,560 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,548,889,000 after acquiring an additional 4,167,222 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% during the 4th 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 valued at $1,045,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,740 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,239,197 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $715,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,456,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $670,407,000 after purchasing an additional 9,041,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.12.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PFE stock opened at $24.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $30.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.50. The stock has a market cap of $139.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Pfizer's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.49%.

Pfizer Company Profile

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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