Pfizer Inc. $PFE Stock Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its Pfizer stake by 3.5% in the third quarter, adding 76,437 shares for a total of 2.27 million shares valued at approximately $64.8 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral view of Pfizer, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $28.65; individual targets ranged from $26 to $33.
• Pfizer shares opened at $30.48, near their 12-month high, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding about 5.6%.

Welch Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,271,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 76,437 shares during the quarter. Pfizer makes up approximately 2.2% of Welch Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $64,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 15.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,482,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $132,365,000 after acquiring an additional 745,213 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Pfizer by 10.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,462,431 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $59,295,000 after acquiring an additional 232,528 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth approximately $4,887,000. Park National Corp OH increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 242,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,829,000 after acquiring an additional 186,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $3,706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. HSBC lifted their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.65.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $30.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.62 and a 12 month high of $30.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is 226.32%.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its research activities span areas including oncology, internal medicine, inflammation and immunology, hospital care, infectious diseases and rare diseases.

The company's portfolio includes medicines such as Eliquis, Ibrance, Prevnar and Vyndaqel, as well as vaccines including Comirnaty, Abrysvo and Prevnar. Pfizer also develops treatments through internal research, licensing agreements and collaborations with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, Pfizer has grown into an international healthcare company serving patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.

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