ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,500 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for approximately 1.0% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd's holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth $37,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $26.72. 47,944,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,776,984. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.80 and a 200-day moving average of $28.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. The company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer's payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.58.

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.