Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 431,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,799 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $15,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management boosted its position in Pfizer by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 17,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 94,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,840,000 after purchasing an additional 22,879 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,771,584 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,281,000 after purchasing an additional 15,900 shares during the period. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 197,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the period. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 23,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.05% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $34.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $192.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.80 and its 200 day moving average is $37.96. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.54 and a 12-month high of $54.93.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.36%. The firm’s revenue was down 54.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 28th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 27th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 43.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.35.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, 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.