Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 683.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 168,369 shares during the quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,972,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 248.7% in the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 5,796,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,133,786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,973,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,781,441. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.90 and a 200 day moving average of $27.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $37.80. The stock has a market cap of $159.91 billion, a PE ratio of -470.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.69.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.54.

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.