Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,136 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 58.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,136 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,817,055,000 after buying an additional 348,628 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,129,927,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,972,300,000 after acquiring an additional 8,298,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.54.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.6 %

PFE stock opened at $27.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.05. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $37.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.68. The company has a market cap of $158.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -466.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.70.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

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.