Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Cuts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 59,241 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,166,000. LGT Group Foundation grew its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% during the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 742,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,786,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1,729.9% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 47,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 44,458 shares during the period. Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth $2,439,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $2,171,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.8 %

PFE opened at $29.42 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.20 and a 12 month high of $34.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -490.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Pfizer Company 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.