Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price was up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.05 and last traded at $26.01. Approximately 10,095,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 37,159,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average is $27.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 80.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 227,349 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 394.2% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 26.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.