ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 819,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 28,937 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $28,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 5,167,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,853,000 after buying an additional 1,635,700 shares in the last quarter. Paulson & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $11,439,000. E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 6.8% in the first quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 62,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.7% in the first quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carroll Financial Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 33.9% in the first quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 197,820 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,767,000 after buying an additional 50,045 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.
Pfizer, Inc. (PFE) traded up 0.63% on Friday, reaching $33.64. 25,790,667 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. Pfizer, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.83 and a 52-week high of $35.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.25. The company has a market cap of $200.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 1.00.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 24.11%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer, Inc. will post $2.56 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.12%.
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price target on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS AG reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, July 31st. BidaskClub raised shares of Pfizer from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up previously from $34.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.77.
About Pfizer
Pfizer Inc (Pfizer) is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the discovery, development and manufacture of healthcare products. Its global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines, as well as consumer healthcare products. The Company manages its commercial operations through two business segments: Pfizer Innovative Health (IH) and Pfizer Essential Health (EH).
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