Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 23,254 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,266 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 23,254 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,817,055,000 after buying an additional 348,628 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $2,129,927,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,972,300,000 after buying an additional 8,298,920 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of PFE opened at $27.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $157.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -462.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.72. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $38.99.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.86.

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.