GFS Advisors LLC Sells 3,927 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

GFS Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 480,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,927 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for approximately 2.4% of GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $12,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $23.88 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.92. The firm has a market cap of $135.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.