Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 105,873 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,809,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,106.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,153,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.83. 37,727,922 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,863,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.40. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer 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.