Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,318,856 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,370,984 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.59% of Pfizer worth $932,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 23,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 2.9% during the second quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 276,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,734,000 after buying an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,781,000. Finally, Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV bought a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter worth approximately $169,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PFE stock opened at $29.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $165.86 billion, a PE ratio of -487.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.13. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $34.42.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,800.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

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.