Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 305,889 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,253,756 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 305,889 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $33,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after buying an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Pfizer by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $22.38 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.69 and a 200-day moving average of $26.06. The firm has a market cap of $126.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.69%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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