Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $26.61 and last traded at $26.71. 7,684,999 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 34,325,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.89. The company has a market cap of $150.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 232.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in 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 buying an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $564,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,549 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.