The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Pfizer stake by 4.2% in the second quarter, selling 148,253 shares and retaining 3.36 million shares valued at approximately $81 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 68.36%, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $28.39.
• Pfizer beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.77 and revenue of $15.03 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a 6.2% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,364,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 148,253 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Pfizer worth $81,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,282.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $17,677,000 after purchasing an additional 618,117 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 12.4% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 58,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Pfizer by 31.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,635,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $63,889,000 after acquiring an additional 631,523 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 45.3% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 102,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 31,896 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.39.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $27.69 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.27. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $29.21.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 226.32%.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its portfolio addresses a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, hospital care, rare diseases and infectious diseases. The company serves patients and healthcare providers in markets worldwide.

Pfizer's products include the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine, the Prevnar family of pneumococcal vaccines, and medicines such as Eliquis, Ibrance, Vyndaqel and Zavzaret.

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