Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.70 and last traded at $25.93. Approximately 13,426,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 38,363,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $145.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.34 and a 200 day moving average of $27.30.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd 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 grew its position 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 valued at $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 227,349 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after buying an additional 639,985 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.