Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Stake in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 571,286 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 18,348 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $13,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Pfizer by 10.4% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,462,431 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,295,000 after purchasing an additional 232,528 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Pfizer by 15.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,482,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $132,365,000 after purchasing an additional 745,213 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,479,520,000 after purchasing an additional 7,031,162 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,887,000. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $5,348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Pfizer from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.28.

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer completed a Phase 1/2 study of PF-07868489, an experimental treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The milestone supports early-stage pipeline progress, though additional clinical testing will be needed before any potential commercialization. Pfizer’s PF-07868489 PAH Study Reaches Completion
• Positive Sentiment: Several additional clinical updates highlighted progress across Pfizer’s development portfolio: completion of a Phase 1 atirmociclib study, completion of a drug-interaction study for PF-07248144, and a new Phase 1 liver study for atirmociclib. These milestones may reinforce confidence in Pfizer’s ability to replenish revenue as older products face competition. Atirmociclib Study Update PF-07248144 Study Update
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer is also expanding real-world evidence efforts for prostate cancer therapies, Ibrance in advanced breast cancer, and a migraine treatment study in India. These studies could support broader use and strengthen commercial evidence for existing medicines. Pfizer Real-World Prostate Cancer Study
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-oriented coverage remains constructive, citing Pfizer’s roughly 19% year-to-date gain, attractive dividend yield, and reported hedge-fund buying. The stock’s move toward its 52-week high suggests improving sentiment. Hedge Funds Buying Pfizer
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity may increase short-term trading interest, but it does not establish a clear fundamental direction for PFE. Pfizer Options Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of settlements involving thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits raises concerns about potential legal costs and ongoing liability. Analysts also continue to weigh whether new drugs and acquisitions can offset revenue losses from expiring patents. Pfizer Legal Claims

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $28.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $159.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.25. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $28.75.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 226.32%.

Pfizer 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.