Viking Fund Management LLC Decreases Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its position in Pfizer by 20.8%, selling 80,000 shares, and now holds 304,000 shares valued at approximately $7.37 million.
• Pfizer reported $0.78 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.20, with a revenue of $14.65 billion, up 10.3% from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43, yielding 7.2%, with a payout ratio of 91.49%.

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 20.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 856.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $508,164,000 after purchasing an additional 17,957,928 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,265,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,758,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter valued at approximately $389,861,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 51.9% during the first 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 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.03. 86,201,583 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,901,288. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $136.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.21. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $30.43.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 91.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Berenberg Bank decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.12.

About Pfizer

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.