Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 17,957,928 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Pfizer Inc., acquiring 17,957,928 shares, which resulted in an 856.8% increase and now makes up 1.2% of their investment portfolio.
• Pfizer recently reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a 7.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a 6.94% yield and an annualized rate of $1.72.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 856.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 17,957,928 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for 1.2% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.35% of Pfizer worth $508,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFE. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Pfizer by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,335,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $59,173,000 after purchasing an additional 313,587 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 369,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,361,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 175,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,450,000 after buying an additional 27,431 shares during the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 110,837 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,809,000 after buying an additional 11,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.79. 35,628,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,205,096. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $140.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.30 and its 200-day moving average is $24.68. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.55.

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.