Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 7,622,100 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,330,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,622,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.16% of Pfizer worth $247,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton increased its stake in Pfizer by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 114,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE PFE opened at $22.83 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.32. 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 cap of $129.77 billion, a PE 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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

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.