Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded down 0.8% on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $31.00 to $29.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $26.23 and last traded at $26.92. 35,409,555 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 36,075,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.13.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.06.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

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.