Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares dropped 0.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $26.19 and last traded at $26.32. Approximately 7,639,419 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 38,904,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.14.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $151.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.13.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after buying an additional 2,241,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Company 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.