Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 21,692 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. by 32.1%, selling 21,692 shares in the first quarter, while still owning 45,798 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Pfizer, with Pacer Advisors Inc. raising theirs by 856.8% to over 20 million shares valued at about $508 million.
• Pfizer recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43, representing a 6.94% dividend yield, but its payout ratio stands at a high 124.64%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 32.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,798 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 21,692 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 856.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,957,928 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $407,730,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $254,574,000 after buying an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Pfizer by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1,106.0% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,619,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $143,967,000 after buying an additional 5,153,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Pfizer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.55.

Pfizer Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.

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