Pfizer Inc. $PFE Position Reduced by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Key Points

• Hanson & Doremus Investment Management cut its Pfizer stake by 54.9% in the first quarter, selling 70,897 shares and leaving it with 58,337 shares worth about $1.64 million.
• Pfizer is facing some near-term pressure from negative news, including a late-stage lung cancer drug trial failure and the planned departure of CFO Dave Denton on August 15.
• Despite those concerns, Pfizer recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and continues to offer a high dividend yield of about 6.9%, though analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 54.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,337 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 70,897 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after buying an additional 13,581,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $638,787,000 after buying an additional 8,108,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Pfizer by 577.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $218,817,000 after buying an additional 7,489,189 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.82.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer reported that its experimental lung cancer treatment, sigvotatug vedotin, missed the main goal in a late-stage Phase 3 trial, a setback that raises questions about the drug’s commercial prospects and the strength of the company’s oncology pipeline. Article: Pfizer's experimental drug misses main goal of lung cancer trial
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also digesting leadership turnover after Pfizer said CFO Dave Denton will step down effective August 15, which adds near-term uncertainty around financial leadership. Article: Pfizer (PFE) CFO Dave Denton to Step Down Effective August 15
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer said it is not planning a major acquisition in the next couple of years and instead wants to use artificial intelligence to improve operations, signaling a focus on internal efficiency rather than M&A-driven growth. Article: Pfizer Isn't Expecting to Make Any Big Acquisition in the Next Couple of Years, but It's Planning to Do This Instead
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary around Pfizer’s valuation, dividend appeal, and obesity-drug strategy may be supporting longer-term investor interest, but these pieces are not likely the main driver of the stock’s move today. Article: Eli Lilly vs Pfizer: One Owns the Obesity Market Today, The Other Paid to Compete Tomorrow

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $25.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $142.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.18 and a 200-day moving average of $26.33. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.11 and a 52-week high of $28.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 131.30%.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc NYSE: PFE is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer's portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.

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