Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires 41,912 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,472,852 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,912 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Pfizer were worth $37,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Pfizer by 0.6% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,432,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $61,651,000 after buying an additional 15,509 shares during the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 10.9% in the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 12,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 9.2% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 5,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 13.4% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 406,837 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,309,000 after purchasing an additional 48,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,809 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,073 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.52. The stock had a trading volume of 15,957,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,941,919. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $139.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

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.