Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $617,000 Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 44.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $274,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $23.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.12 and a 200-day moving average of $25.06. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $133.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

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.