Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded up 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.82 and last traded at $27.65. 7,085,914 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 41,046,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.86.

Pfizer Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $157.22 billion, a PE ratio of -462.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,985,783,000 after buying an additional 8,473,686 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,817,055,000 after acquiring an additional 348,628 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,129,927,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,972,300,000 after buying an additional 8,298,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.