Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.8% Higher

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.80 and last traded at $28.63. 7,335,823 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 38,254,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.04. The company has a market cap of $161.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -477.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,129,927,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Pfizer by 3.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Pfizer by 1.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,104,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,593,000 after purchasing an additional 290,760 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 3.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $417,561,000 after purchasing an additional 470,003 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.