Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Buys 8,740 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 123,965 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,740 shares during the quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.51 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $139.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.95.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.