River Global Investors LLP Sells 576 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

River Global Investors LLP reduced its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 833.4% during the fourth quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV now owns 133,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 119,262 shares in the last quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,710 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 26,145 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Provence Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 9,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,630,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.81. 60,568,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,900,304. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $157.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -463.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.21.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PFE. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday. Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

About Pfizer

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.