Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Position Trimmed by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,431 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 31,627 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,106.0% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,619,213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $143,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.6 %

Pfizer stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.41. The company had a trading volume of 42,389,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,870,948. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.05%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.64.

Pfizer Company 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.