Pfizer Inc. $PFE Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its Pfizer stake by 1.3%, selling 179,173 shares and retaining 13.6 million shares valued at approximately $387.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.36% of Pfizer.
• Analysts remain broadly cautious: Pfizer has an average “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with five Buy, thirteen Hold, and two Sell ratings and an average price target of $28.65.
• Pfizer reported quarterly earnings of $0.77 per share, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share. The dividend implies a 5.6% yield, though the reported payout ratio is high at 226.32%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,596,756 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 179,173 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Pfizer worth $387,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Pfizer by 15.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,482,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $132,365,000 after acquiring an additional 745,213 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 232,528 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $4,887,000. Park National Corp OH boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 242,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,829,000 after purchasing an additional 186,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,706,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.65.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $30.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $173.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.27. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.62 and a fifty-two week high of $30.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.79.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer reported that its Phase 3 MagnetisMM-32 trial of ELREXFIO met its primary endpoint in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The result supports another potential growth driver for Pfizer’s oncology portfolio. The FDA also expanded the use of TALZENNA plus XTANDI for certain men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, increasing the commercial opportunity for the combination. Pfizer cancer trial and FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: New real-world data from China showed continued momentum for lorlatinib in lung cancer treatment, potentially reinforcing the drug’s adoption and durability outside clinical-trial settings. Lorlatinib China study article
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer launched a Phase 1 trial for Alzheimer’s candidate PF-08161842, adding a new early-stage asset to its pipeline. Although the program is years from potential commercialization, it gives investors another source of long-term optionality. PF-08161842 Alzheimer’s trial article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Pfizer’s third-quarter earnings report, scheduled for November 3. Attention will center on whether non-COVID products and pipeline progress can offset continuing declines in pandemic-related revenue. Pfizer Q3 earnings outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious ahead of earnings, while commentary highlights that Pfizer’s nearly 6% dividend yield exceeded free cash flow in the prior year. That raises questions about long-term payout coverage, even though the dividend remains attractive to income-focused investors. Pfizer dividend safety article

Pfizer Profile

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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