Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

by · The Markets Daily

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 744,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 60,386 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $19,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $564,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.21. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PFE

Pfizer Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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