Griffin Asset Management Inc. Buys 7,943 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 67,989 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after buying an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,473,686 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,972,300,000 after acquiring an additional 8,298,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 248.7% during the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 5,796,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,837,000 after acquiring an additional 4,133,786 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday. Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.54.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.6 %

PFE opened at $27.98 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.20 and a 12 month high of $37.80. The company has a market cap of $158.55 billion, a PE ratio of -466.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $27.90 and a 200 day moving average of $27.68.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

About Pfizer

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.