Metis Global Partners LLC Trims Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,748 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 34,728 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Curio Wealth LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 36,600.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $27.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.47. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $27.94.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The company had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

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.