Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 9,091 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,091 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $29.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.21 and its 200-day moving average is $28.12. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $34.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.86 billion, a PE ratio of -487.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,799.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.54.

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.