Artemis Investment Management LLP Decreases Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448,076 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 12,051 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Pfizer were worth $11,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.30. The stock had a trading volume of 35,146,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,869,448. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.08 and its 200 day moving average is $27.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

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.