Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 1.1% Higher – What’s Next?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $27.24 and last traded at $27.02. Approximately 15,767,046 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 39,205,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $150.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,756,738,000 after buying an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.