CENTRAL TRUST Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

CENTRAL TRUST Co cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 463,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,827 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $13,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth $172,902,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 181.6% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,670,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $212,855,000 after buying an additional 4,947,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 21.8% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,813,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $438,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,178 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $28.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -481.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.07 and a 200 day moving average of $28.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,800.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.91.

Pfizer 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.