Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stock Position Raised by Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP boosted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 739 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 95,772,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,161,261,000 after buying an additional 9,393,992 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Pfizer by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,054,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $797,901,000 after buying an additional 5,678,004 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Pfizer by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 60,207,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,997,083,000 after buying an additional 5,185,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Pfizer by 219.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,503,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $182,567,000 after buying an additional 3,780,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,028,940 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $332,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.26. The company had a trading volume of 24,501,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,887,898. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.52. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.23 and a fifty-two week high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.61.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 466.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.33.

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.