Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were up 0.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.21 and last traded at $26.25. Approximately 9,038,566 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 32,665,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

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 50 day moving average is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in 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 period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.