Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 1,383,305 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,445,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,383,305 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $170,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 118.7% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 294,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,820,000 after purchasing an additional 159,984 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 9,963 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,395,000 after buying an additional 48,397 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 80.7% in the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 46,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 20,911 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $22.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.61.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 124.64%.

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.