Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $17.42 Million Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 656,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 67,007 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $17,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,756,738,000 after buying an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $2,328,986,000. Finally, 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. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of PFE traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.83. 37,727,922 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,925,832. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $129.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.65 and a 200-day moving average of $25.34. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. 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 payout ratio is 124.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFE. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.17.

About Pfizer

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.