Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.78 and last traded at $24.90. Approximately 7,854,625 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 38,309,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.4 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.61. 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 cap of $141.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Swiss National Bank increased 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 worth $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 26.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 639,985 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 13,118,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $379,657,000 after acquiring an additional 544,418 shares during the period. 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.