Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 16,327 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 2.0 %

PFE stock opened at $26.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.68. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.58.

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.