Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Pfizer by 11.2%, acquiring an additional 147,441 shares, bringing its total to 1,462,189 shares worth approximately $37.05 million.
• Pfizer's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $0.78 earnings per share and $14.65 billion in revenue, marking a 10.3% year-over-year increase.
• The firm recently announced a $0.43 quarterly dividend, which translates to an annual yield of 7.0%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 91.49%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,462,189 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 147,441 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Pfizer were worth $37,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 17.0% during the first quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 27,653 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Pfizer by 29.3% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 248,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,293,000 after buying an additional 56,334 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.0% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 301,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,638,000 after buying an additional 5,801 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 8.6% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 113,065 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,865,000 after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Pfizer by 4.5% during the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 12,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.12.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.08. 5,703,790 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,613,387. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.47. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $30.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $142.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 91.49%.

Pfizer Company 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.