Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Decreases Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 10%, now owning 114,116 shares valued at approximately $2.89 million.
• Several analysts have issued new price targets, with Goldman Sachs raising theirs from $25 to $27 and TD Cowen lowering theirs from $32 to $28, reflecting a generally neutral outlook on the stock.
• Pfizer's recent quarterly earnings showed earnings per share of $0.92, exceeding expectations, although revenue decreased by 7.8% year-over-year.

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 12,694 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE PFE traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.43. The stock had a trading volume of 37,740,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,293,652. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.60. The company has a market cap of $133.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.