Pfizer, Inc. (PFE) Stake Increased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 836,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 116,595 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $28,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Group Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% in the second quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,602 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the first quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 7,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.3% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 24,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 22,091 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Windward LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.1% in the first quarter. Alpha Windward LLC now owns 8,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 69.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 0.84% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.51. 5,190,170 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.24 and its 200 day moving average is $33.41. Pfizer, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.83 and a 1-year high of $35.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 24.51%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Pfizer, Inc. will post $2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 2nd. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 94.12%.

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Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC set a $35.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Berenberg Bank set a $39.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Citigroup Inc. lowered shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.61.

In other Pfizer news, insider Laurie J. Olson sold 8,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $263,692.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,436,346.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ian C. Read sold 96,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $3,296,300.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 120,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,062,493. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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).