Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 52,578 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 756,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,578 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $20,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 27.9% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 460,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,316,000 after acquiring an additional 100,492 shares during the period. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 33,636 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 123,930 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 12,223 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,323,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,314,000 after purchasing an additional 46,221 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $25.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.78. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 232.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Company 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.