Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 956,873 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,075,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 956,873 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Pfizer worth $373,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 27.9% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 460,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,316,000 after purchasing an additional 100,492 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its position in Pfizer by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 33,636 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 123,930 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its position in Pfizer by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 12,223 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,323,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,314,000 after acquiring an additional 46,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day moving average of $27.78. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 232.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PFE. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

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.