Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by Vicus Capital

Vicus Capital lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,639 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $274,694,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 307.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $254,574,000 after purchasing an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.00 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $136.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.93.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.