Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Invests $7.08 Million in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 254,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,078,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,007,000 after purchasing an additional 18,611 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,166,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 74,487 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. lifted its position in Pfizer by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 225,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.35. 26,990,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,022,254. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $160.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -469.59, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.71.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.54.

Pfizer 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.