Thompson Investment Management Inc. Buys 7,381 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 410,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,381 shares during the period. Pfizer comprises about 1.6% of Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $10,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Pfizer by 7.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.30 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.93 and a 200 day moving average of $24.98. The firm has a market cap of $138.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.