Wills Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC sharply increased its Pfizer position in the fourth quarter, boosting its stake by 906.4% to 109,153 shares worth about $2.72 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to Pfizer, and 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds, signaling continued professional interest in the name.
• Pfizer has several recent catalysts, including FDA label expansion for HYMPAVZI and encouraging Phase 2b obesity-drug data showing about 16% weight loss, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target of $28.82.

Wills Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 906.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,153 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,307 shares during the period. Wills Financial Group LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth $16,613,000. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 171,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,266,000 after buying an additional 57,777 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Pfizer by 119.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,106,644 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $79,157,000 after buying an additional 1,691,773 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,615,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $168,565,000 after buying an additional 56,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $468,174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978,927 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded HYMPAVZI’s label to include additional hemophilia A and B patient groups, including pediatric patients ages 6 to 11, which could deepen Pfizer’s rare-disease revenue opportunity and strengthen its growth story. U.S. FDA Approves Pfizer’s HYMPAVZI for the Treatment of Two Additional Hemophilia A or B Patient Populations with Significant Medical Need
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s obesity drug showed about 16% weight loss in a Phase 2b study, adding to hopes that the company can build a meaningful presence in the lucrative weight-loss market. Pfizer's Obesity Drug Shows 16% Weight Loss In Phase 2b Study
• Positive Sentiment: Traders bought a high volume of Pfizer call options, suggesting some investors are positioning for further upside. Investors Buy High Volume of Pfizer Call Options NYSE: PFE
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces argued Pfizer still has long-term upside and could eventually double over several years, but these were opinion-based and did not present a new fundamental catalyst. Prediction: Pfizer Stock Will Double on This Date
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer was also mentioned in broader sector commentary about pharma companies needing to acquire new assets as patent cliffs approach, which is more of an industry backdrop than a direct stock-moving event. BMO Capital Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Pfizer (PFE)
• Negative Sentiment: Despite recent progress, Pfizer still faces investor concern over post-COVID growth normalization and patent-expiration pressure, which has kept enthusiasm muted relative to peers. Will obesity drugs save Pfizer from its post-COVID slump?

Pfizer Stock Up 0.2%

Pfizer stock opened at $25.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.11 and a fifty-two week high of $28.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.31.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. Argus raised Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut shares of Pfizer from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.82.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.