BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 59.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,081,555 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 405,144 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $30,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 100.0% during the first quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $29.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.36 and its 200-day moving average is $28.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.09 billion, a PE ratio of -488.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.68. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $34.11.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.54.

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.