Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,504,816 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 8,490.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,534,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,504,816 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $64,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,817,000 after acquiring an additional 17,032 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter worth $8,283,000. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 69.6% during the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 31,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 8.7% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 10,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.46. 36,271,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,959,930. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.73.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic lowered their price target on Pfizer from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.