Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 158,262 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,003,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 158,262 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $50,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 856.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after acquiring an additional 17,957,928 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $389,861,000. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $407,730,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,456,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $670,407,000 after acquiring an additional 9,041,990 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $254,574,000 after acquiring an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $30.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.47.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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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