Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PFE opened at $26.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.21 and a 200 day moving average of $28.05. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 6.39%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 227,349 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 394.2% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 639,985 shares during the period. 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.