Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires Shares of 576,743 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 576,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,776,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Socorro Asset Management LP grew its position in Pfizer by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP now owns 266,951 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,726,000 after purchasing an additional 40,545 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the third quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 101,267 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,695,000 after acquiring an additional 3,185 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 59.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 141,075 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after acquiring an additional 52,461 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.5% during the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in Pfizer by 34.9% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 213,059 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,166,000 after purchasing an additional 55,092 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.21 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.49. The company has a market cap of $148.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.