Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,976,209 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 96.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,976,209 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 100.0% during the first quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on 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 research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0 %

PFE stock opened at $29.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -483.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.20 and a 12 month high of $36.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,800.00%.

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.