Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price rose 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.00 and last traded at $26.94. Approximately 10,932,240 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 31,681,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.04.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,131.0% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 2,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 40,528 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 72,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 114,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in Pfizer by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 19,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.