Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.65 and last traded at $26.52. Approximately 5,689,494 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 38,739,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $149.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.10.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a boost 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 yield of 6.51%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.