Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price fell 0.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $26.19 and last traded at $26.32. 7,639,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 38,904,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.17. 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 stock has a market cap of $150.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,419 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is 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.