Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 0.4%

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.05 and last traded at $29.86. 7,797,322 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 39,872,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.79 and a 200-day moving average of $27.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -478.83, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.69.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,800.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 43,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after buying an additional 6,350 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,434,908 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $70,101,000 after buying an additional 333,716 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $97,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 301,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after buying an additional 60,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 144,023 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after buying an additional 20,221 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.