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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.05 and last traded at $26.01. 10,095,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 37,159,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFE. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.41.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.