Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $2,129,927,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 13.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Pfizer by 21.8% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,813,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,820,000 after buying an additional 2,829,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $29.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $36.29.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.54.

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.