ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,155,129 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,325 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $28,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 47.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,479,520,000 after buying an additional 7,031,162 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 203.8% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 9,012,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $229,346,000 after buying an additional 6,045,763 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 48.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $468,174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 120.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,505,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $230,986,000 after acquiring an additional 5,202,884 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer advanced its new 25-strain pneumococcal vaccine into pivotal testing after strong Phase 2 infant data showed a much stronger immune response than Prevnar 20, raising the chance of a future growth driver. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer also highlighted long-term oncology expansion around Padcev, biosimilars, and late-stage pipeline assets, which could help offset pressure from legacy drugs and improve future revenue visibility. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles repeated the same pipeline themes, reinforcing investor attention on vaccine and oncology programs rather than introducing entirely new developments. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: One commentary piece compared Pfizer’s dividend and valuation profile with Johnson & Johnson, noting PFE’s low valuation and high yield but also weaker consistency versus JNJ; this may support income-focused investors, but it is not a direct operating catalyst. Seeking Alpha article
• Negative Sentiment: The J&J comparison underscores ongoing concerns about Pfizer’s relative growth consistency, suggesting the stock may still trade at a discount until management proves the pipeline can deliver more durable earnings growth. Seeking Alpha article

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.81 and a 52-week high of $28.75. The firm has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.22.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 131.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC boosted their target price on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.61.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.