Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $153.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.05.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.