Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,636 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $274,694,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 307.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,046,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $254,574,000 after purchasing an additional 7,581,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $139.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.98.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

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.