Pfizer (PFE) is a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered in New York. It researches, develops, and manufactures biopharmaceutical products across a range of different areas. These areas include oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases, immunology, rare diseases, and vaccines.
Pfizer collaborated with German biotech company BioNTech SE (BNTX) to develop one of the world's most widely used mRNA-based vaccines against COVID-19. The vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2021, becoming the first COVID-19 vaccine to gain full approval from the FDA and continues to be available under EUA, including for individuals between the ages of 12 and 15.
The top shareholders of Pfizer are Frank A. D'Amelio, Mikael Dolsten, Albert Bourla, Vanguard Group, BlackRock (BLK), and State Street (STT).
Pfizer's net income and revenue for the trailing 12 months (TTM) ending Dec. 31, 2023, were $2.12 billion and $58.5 billion, respectively. The company's market capitalization was $145.66 billion as of March 4, 2024.
Key Takeaways
- Pfizer is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that developed a COVID-19 vaccine that was approved by the FDA in August 2021.
- The three top individual/insider shareholders in Pfizer are Frank A. D'Amelio, Mikael Dolsten, and Albert Bourla.
- The three top institutional shareholders are Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street.
Top 3 Individual/Insider Shareholders
The shares noted below are held directly by individual/insider shareholders. The totals do not include shares held indirectly (through other individuals or entities) nor shares accessible through stock options.
Frank A. D'Amelio
Frank D'Amelio owned 398,019 shares of Pfizer stock as of the company's proxy filing on March 16, 2023.
D'Amerlio, who retired from Pfizer in May 2022, was chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president of Global Supply for Pfizer. He oversaw the company's corporate finance functions, which include audit, treasury, tax, insurance, business finance and analytics, and more. He was responsible for leading several of Pfizer's acquisitions, including Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Before joining Pfizer in 2007, D'Amelio worked for Alcatel-Lucent as chief administrative officer and senior executive vice president of Integration.
Albert Bourla
Albert Bourla held 194,312 shares of Pfizer as of March 16, 2023. Bourla is chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pfizer. He has been with the company for more than 30 years.
As CEO, Bourla has pushed Pfizer to become a company that is more science-driven and innovative. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he drove an investment of more than $2 billion (refusing public funding) to deliver a safe and effective vaccine in eight months rather than the usual eight to 10 years.
Under his leadership, Pfizer next delivered the first FDA-authorized oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Based on this success, he's taken the same urgent-need approach to therapeutic projects aimed at cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory conditions, and more.
Mikael Dolsten
Mikael Dolsten owned 86,403 shares as of March 16, 2023. Dolsten is Pfizer's chief scientific officer. His focus is on developing scientific breakthroughs in small-molecule medicines, biotherapeutics, gene therapies, and vaccines.
Before joining Pfizer in 2009, he served as the president of Wyeth Research, and before that, as executive vice president and head of Worldwide Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. Dolsten is the inventor of several patents and has published approximately 150 articles in international journals.
The term insider refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company's stock.
Top 3 Institutional Shareholders
Institutional investors hold almost 69% of Pfizer's total shares outstanding.
Vanguard Group
Vanguard Group held 506.51 million shares of Pfizer as of Dec. 31, 2023. The company is primarily a mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) management company with about $8 trillion in global assets under management (AUM).
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is one of the company's largest ETFs with about $420.71 billion in AUM. Pfizer comprises 0.41% of VOO's holdings.
BlackRock
BlackRock owned 432.5 million Pfizer shares as of Dec. 31, 2023. BlackRock is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company. It has over $9 trillion in AUM.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is one of BlackRock's largest ETFs with approximately $450.03 billion in AUM. Pfizer comprises 0.37% of IVV's holdings.
State Street
State Street held 287.48 million shares of Pfizer as of Dec. 31, 2023. It owns Pfizer shares via its investment management arm, State Street Global Advisors. State Street is primarily a manager of mutual funds, ETFs, and other assets with approximately $4.13 trillion in AUM.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is one of State Street's largest ETFs with approximately $501.5 billion in AUM. Pfizer comprises nearly 0.37% of SPY's holdings.
What Is Pfizer's Business Focus?
Pfizer is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company focused on driving medical innovations and delivering medicines throughout the world, especially to communities without the level of access to healthcare that others enjoy.
What Vaccines Has Pfizer Created?
Pfizer developed a COVID-19 vaccine in eight months. This vaccine is used by millions across the world. In August 2023, the FDA approved the company's maternal vaccine to prevent and protect infants from the respiratory syncytial virus from birth to six months of age.
Does Pfizer Pay Dividends to Shareholders?
Yes. Pfizer is a company that pays shareholders dividends. It has paid a dividend for the past 341 consecutive quarters as of Dec. 14, 2023. This includes the cash dividend of $0.42 for the first quarter of 2024.
The Bottom Line
Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in New York. It developed a successful vaccine against COVID-19. Its top three individual shareholders are Frank A. D'Amelio, Mikael Dolsten, and Albert Bourla. The top three institutional investors in Pfizer are Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street.
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