Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 4% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares were up 4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.45 and last traded at $26.26. Approximately 30,497,885 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 38,455,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.15.

Pfizer Stock Up 4.2 %

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 market cap of $149.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.09 and a 200 day moving average of $28.25.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.