Mizuho Securities USA LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 69,459 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $10,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,709,000 after buying an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 639,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 13,118,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $379,657,000 after buying an additional 544,418 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.61.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

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.