The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Position in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Pfizer stake by 6.1% in the first quarter, selling 229,260 shares and retaining 3.51 million shares valued at approximately $98.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.36% of Pfizer.
• Pfizer exceeded first-quarter expectations with $0.75 in adjusted EPS and $14.45 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 5.4% year over year. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.80–$3.00.
• Pfizer announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, equivalent to a 6.8% annualized yield, but analysts remain cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $28.50 price target versus a $25.25 share price.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,512,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 229,260 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Pfizer worth $98,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 132.2% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 994 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $25.25 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 0.35. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.11 and a fifty-two week high of $28.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.50.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Pfizer to beat second-quarter earnings estimates, supported by favorable earnings expectations and improving revenue trends. The prospect of another earnings surprise may be encouraging investors ahead of the report. Pfizer Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer completed a Phase 1 study evaluating the tablet formulation of ibuzatrelvir, an antiviral candidate. While early-stage data do not establish commercial success, the update represents progress in Pfizer’s pipeline and could support longer-term growth expectations. Pfizer Fine Tunes Ibuzatrelvir Tablet
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s priority review of TALZENNA in combination with XTANDI for an earlier prostate-cancer setting could expand Pfizer’s oncology franchise. Investors may view the opportunity as a potential offset to declining legacy and COVID-related products. FDA Priority Review of TALZENNA
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries highlighted Pfizer’s discounted valuation and argued that its patent-cliff concerns may already be reflected in the share price. This value-investing narrative likely contributed to buying interest. Pfizer Valuation and Patent Cliff Analysis

Pfizer 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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