Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stock Holdings Decreased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 431,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,799 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $15,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Front Street Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 4.3% during the first quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 31,376 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 49,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 55,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,833,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Credit Suisse Group cut Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.35.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $34.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.12. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.54 and a 52-week high of $54.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.59.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a return on equity of 28.36% and a net margin of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 27th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 43.62%.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, 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.