Pfizer Inc. $PFE Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 96.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 447,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 13,641,127 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $10,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,270,157,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,265,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,758,846 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,928,730,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198,330 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,718,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $453,747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Pfizer by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 62,325,957 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,579,340,000 after buying an additional 3,943,397 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.77 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.73. The company has a market capitalization of $146.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.46. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $27.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PFE. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Pfizer from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.56.

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.