Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 67,007 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 656,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,007 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $17,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE PFE opened at $22.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.40. The stock has a market cap of $128.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

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.