Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.3% After Dividend Announcement

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded up 0.3% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $25.50 and last traded at $25.44. 6,839,970 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 38,396,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.37.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 232.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.15.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swiss National Bank lifted 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.