Raymond James & Associates Raises Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,763,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 950,860 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.15% of Pfizer worth $243,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 100.0% in the first quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Argus cut Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen cut Pfizer from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.33.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.40. The stock had a trading volume of 46,526,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,120,812. The stock has a market cap of $143.83 billion, a PE ratio of 70.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.36. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $40.37.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 3.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 466.67%.

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.

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