Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.07 and last traded at $26.85. 6,788,453 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 34,445,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $150.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.89.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.49%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth $31,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 9.6% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 100,181 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 8,771 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth $118,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth $16,534,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 60.3% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 583,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,329,000 after acquiring an additional 219,600 shares in the last quarter. 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.