Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Has $2.06 Million Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,050 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $24.31 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $138.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

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.