Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.3% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 26,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 58,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 42,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. Finally, Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $29.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.19. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $34.11. The firm has a market cap of $168.58 billion, a PE ratio of -495.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.65%. 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.