Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,989,614 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 339,331 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Pfizer worth $79,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $274,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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. boosted 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 worth $143,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153,257 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Pfizer Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PFE stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.78. 48,160,808 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,426,421. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $129.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.67. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.55%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.