The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $90.72 Million Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 26%, selling over 1.26 million shares during the 1st quarter, leaving it with approximately 3.58 million shares valued at $90.7 million.
• Pfizer's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.78, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $14.65 billion, representing a 10.3% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Pfizer, with one firm downgrading the price target from $28 to $25 while others increased their estimates, resulting in a overall consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $28.12.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,580,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,256,466 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Pfizer worth $90,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 39,368 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Members Trust Co grew its position in Pfizer by 2.1% during the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 23,175 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 8,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Pfizer by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 141,560 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 1.4% during the first quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 34,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.6%

PFE stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,002,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,996,172. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $140.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $30.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.37.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFE. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.12.

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.