Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA cut its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,459 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 buying an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,008,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,104,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,593,000 after purchasing an additional 290,760 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 3.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $417,561,000 after purchasing an additional 470,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 2.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,260,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $287,077,000 after purchasing an additional 238,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.54.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $29.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $168.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -495.75, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.68. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $34.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.19.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.