Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,383,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 37,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $36,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,435 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $409,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $31,000. IMS Capital Management increased its holdings in Pfizer by 2.0% in the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 104,938 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $596,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $26.79 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 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 firm has a market capitalization of $151.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.91.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

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.