Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 66,017 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management increased its Pfizer stake by 41.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 66,017 shares for a total holding of 225,254 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Other institutions also added to Pfizer positions, and institutional investors and hedge funds now own 68.36% of the company’s shares.
• Pfizer reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, but Wall Street’s consensus remains a “Hold” rating with a $28.28 price target. The company also declared a $0.43 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 6.1% annualized yield.

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 66,017 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,462,431 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $59,295,000 after purchasing an additional 232,528 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,482,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $132,365,000 after purchasing an additional 745,213 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,479,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,031,162 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,887,000. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,348,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer completed a Phase 1/2 study of PF-07868489, an experimental treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The milestone supports early-stage pipeline progress, though additional clinical testing will be needed before any potential commercialization. Pfizer’s PF-07868489 PAH Study Reaches Completion
• Positive Sentiment: Several additional clinical updates highlighted progress across Pfizer’s development portfolio: completion of a Phase 1 atirmociclib study, completion of a drug-interaction study for PF-07248144, and a new Phase 1 liver study for atirmociclib. These milestones may reinforce confidence in Pfizer’s ability to replenish revenue as older products face competition. Atirmociclib Study Update PF-07248144 Study Update
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer is also expanding real-world evidence efforts for prostate cancer therapies, Ibrance in advanced breast cancer, and a migraine treatment study in India. These studies could support broader use and strengthen commercial evidence for existing medicines. Pfizer Real-World Prostate Cancer Study
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-oriented coverage remains constructive, citing Pfizer’s roughly 19% year-to-date gain, attractive dividend yield, and reported hedge-fund buying. The stock’s move toward its 52-week high suggests improving sentiment. Hedge Funds Buying Pfizer
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity may increase short-term trading interest, but it does not establish a clear fundamental direction for PFE. Pfizer Options Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of settlements involving thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits raises concerns about potential legal costs and ongoing liability. Analysts also continue to weigh whether new drugs and acquisitions can offset revenue losses from expiring patents. Pfizer Legal Claims

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Pfizer from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $28.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.25. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $159.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 226.32%.

Pfizer 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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