Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,699,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 103,548 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $107,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $151.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.