Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $66.04 Million Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 55.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,606,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 928,180 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $66,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,285,276 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% in 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 buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after buying an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $23.88 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.22 and a 200-day moving average of $24.91. The company has a market capitalization of $135.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.