Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.40 and last traded at $25.29. 7,229,555 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 38,378,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.0 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $144.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.42.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

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.