Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.65 and last traded at $26.53. 27,059,875 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 38,828,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PFE. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.07. The stock has a market cap of $150.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.96, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.