Ruffer LLP Acquires 623,552 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Ruffer LLP grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 44.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,023,065 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 623,552 shares during the quarter. Pfizer comprises 2.9% of Ruffer LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $51,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,928,730,000 after buying an additional 10,198,330 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 127,471,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,080,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820,634 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $2,270,157,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,165,032 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,191,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,390,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,172,980,000 after purchasing an additional 950,239 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.3%

PFE opened at $25.89 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.06.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.