Avanza Fonder AB Acquires New Shares in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 597,710 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,857,000. Pfizer accounts for 0.5% of Avanza Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Pfizer by 3.2% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 271,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,375 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 897,017 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,099,000 after acquiring an additional 5,246 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 190,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,339,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Pfizer by 85.9% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,953,310 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,654,000 after buying an additional 902,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in Pfizer by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 221,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.01. The company has a market capitalization of $149.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target 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, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.