Pfizer Inc. $PFE Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 131,834 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 35,893 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,928,730,000 after acquiring an additional 10,198,330 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 127,471,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,080,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820,634 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 62,325,957 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,579,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,943,397 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,265,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,758,846 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Pfizer by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,444,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $931,901,000 after buying an additional 1,384,227 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.49. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $27.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%.The business had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFE. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.28.

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.