Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.71 and last traded at $25.5580. 53,627,121 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 45,800,254 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.88.

Pfizer Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $146.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.99.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.94 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 22,789 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 29,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Genesis Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $961,000. Kendall Capital Management grew its stake in Pfizer by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 41,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 14,930 shares during the period. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pfizer

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.