Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,234,610 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,381 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $35,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 3.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,008,798,000 after buying an additional 2,241,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PFE opened at $25.58 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The stock has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.