Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 25,924 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Pfizer by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,817,055,000 after purchasing an additional 348,628 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,129,927,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Pfizer by 13.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 8,298,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.54.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.05. The stock had a trading volume of 17,268,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,585,572. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -467.42, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.05. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $37.80.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

About Pfizer

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.