Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.8%

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $27.07 and last traded at $27.21. Approximately 6,980,756 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 40,797,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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 $158.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -466.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,799.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 8.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,298,920 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $172,902,000. 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.