Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 14.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,459 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $172,902,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 181.6% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,670,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $212,855,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947,000 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 248.7% in the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 5,796,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,837,000 after buying an additional 4,133,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,582,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $218,301,000 after buying an additional 3,734,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $29.75 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $34.11. The firm has a market cap of $168.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -495.75, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The firm 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 company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Profile

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.