BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,085,110 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 139,620 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Pfizer were worth $28,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFE. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $23.33. 35,311,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,100,141. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $23.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.16.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio 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.