Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,343,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 16,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $35,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in 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 valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $564,739,000 after buying an additional 4,726,549 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

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

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.41. The company has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Profile

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.