Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,543 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 25,029 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $11,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $274,694,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 worth $254,574,000 after purchasing an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.51. The stock had a trading volume of 46,354,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,162,088. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.97. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $139.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business's revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.02%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

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.