Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,822,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 164,507 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Pfizer worth $139,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Pfizer by 2.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,560,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $477,929,000 after buying an additional 456,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 4.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,553,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $479,073,000 after buying an additional 658,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 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 acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PFE traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $25.83. 28,200,744 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,504,215. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.52. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. 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 (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.92.

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.