Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.05 and last traded at $26.01. Approximately 10,095,266 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 37,159,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.4 %

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 $148.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $27.44.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.