PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 411,806 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. by 4.9%, selling 411,806 shares and now holds 8,057,282 shares valued at approximately $204.17 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have made significant adjustments to their positions in Pfizer, with Pacer Advisors Inc. increasing its stake by 856.8%, owning now 20,053,828 shares worth $508.16 million.
• Analysts have varied outlooks on Pfizer, with average price targets ranging from $22.00 to $32.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $28.28.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,057,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 411,806 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Pfizer worth $204,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 856.8% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after buying an additional 17,957,928 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,730,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Pfizer by 1,106.0% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,619,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $143,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153,257 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 299.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,698,797 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $177,719,000 after purchasing an additional 5,021,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $23.49 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.32. The stock has a market cap of $133.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50 day moving average is $24.36 and its 200 day moving average is $24.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is 124.64%.

Pfizer Profile

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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