Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFEGet Free Report) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.0588.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th.

View Our Latest Research Report on PFE

More Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

Pfizer Stock Up 0.5%

PFE opened at $27.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.15. Pfizer has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $27.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $157.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.47.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFEGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 12.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 126.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $2,270,157,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,208,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,928,730,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198,330 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,433,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $533,704,000 after buying an additional 7,287,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.

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Analyst Recommendations for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

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