Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 119,352 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Pfizer by 18.2%, selling 119,352 shares, leaving it with 537,392 shares valued at approximately $13.6 million.
• Pfizer reported earnings of $0.78 per share for Q2, surpassing expectations and showing a 10.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $14.65 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, reflecting a 6.9% yield and a payout ratio of 91.49%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 119,352 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $13,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,817,000 after purchasing an additional 17,032 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,283,000. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 69.6% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 31,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,051 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PFE opened at $24.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.16. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $30.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.74 and a 200-day moving average of $24.39.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.12.

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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