Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 4,744,499 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 20.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,156,540 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,744,499 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.32% of Pfizer worth $462,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 302.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.81 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $27.94. The firm has a market cap of $152.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 12.42%.Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 126.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.05.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.