Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 86.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 235,638 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Pfizer were worth $12,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $274,694,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 307.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $254,574,000 after buying an additional 7,581,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.20. 39,502,107 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,339,880. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.11%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Pfizer 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.