Westpac Banking Corp Has $2.72 Million Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,473 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $274,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,148,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $295,760,000 after buying an additional 4,938,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.92.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $137.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.26 and a one year high of $31.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.93 and its 200-day moving average is $26.81.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Company 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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