Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,055 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,974 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 2.2 %

PFE stock opened at $25.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.14 and a 200-day moving average of $27.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.