USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,958,514 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 65,118 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Pfizer were worth $52,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,756,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.06. 42,933,836 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,086,139. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.46%. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFE. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Company 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.