Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management significantly increased its Pfizer position, boosting its stake by 773.9% in the fourth quarter to 747,946 shares worth about $18.7 million.
• Pfizer continues to draw mixed but generally cautious analyst sentiment: the stock currently carries a consensus Hold rating, with an average target price of $28.82.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.75 and revenue of $14.45 billion, while also highlighting encouraging Phase 2b data for its obesity drug berobenatide and maintaining a high dividend yield of 6.6%.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 773.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 747,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 662,360 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $18,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,613,000. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 171,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,266,000 after acquiring an additional 57,777 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 119.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,106,644 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $79,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,773 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,615,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $168,565,000 after acquiring an additional 56,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 48.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $468,174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFE. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, March 9th. CICC Research began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.82.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s obesity drug berobenatide posted encouraging Phase 2b results, with favorable tolerability and proof-of-concept data that could strengthen the company’s late-stage pipeline. Pfizer Obesity Pipeline Gains Traction As Berobenatide Data Support Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer has been upgraded by RBC Capital, reinforcing optimism around the stock’s valuation and income appeal. Pfizer (PFE) Upgraded at RBC Capital. Here is Why
• Positive Sentiment: The CEO said Pfizer could eventually get back to high-single-digit growth, suggesting the business may be better positioned than some investors expect. Here's When Pfizer's CEO Says the Company Might Get Back to Generating High-Single-Digit Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple research and analyst roundups focused on Pfizer’s growth drivers, challenges, and recent stock performance, keeping the stock in the spotlight but without a major new catalyst. Top Research Reports for Pfizer & Newmont Corp.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer was among the most searched stocks on Zacks, reflecting investor curiosity around what comes next for the name. Investors Heavily Search Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on Pfizer’s discounted valuation weighed the downside from fading COVID revenue and patent cliffs against upside from oncology, new products, and pipeline execution. Is Pfizer's Discounted Valuation a Buying Opportunity or a Value Trap?

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $26.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $148.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $26.38 and its 200 day moving average is $26.33. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.11 and a twelve month high of $28.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 131.30%.

Pfizer Company 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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