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

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.92.

PFE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.36. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

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