Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $64.14 Million Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,417,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,017 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Pfizer were worth $64,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFE. Citigroup lowered their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.32. 45,181,154 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,114,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.44. The firm has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

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.