Starboard Value LP Buys New Shares in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,368,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,730,000. Pfizer makes up 7.4% of Starboard Value LP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $22.83 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $129.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.34.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

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.