Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded down 2.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $27.09 and last traded at $27.30. 22,392,527 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 37,245,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFE. 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 objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Stock Down 2.3 %

The company has a market cap of $154.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 279.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $172,902,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $146,481,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 24,961.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,497,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487,919 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 120.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,498,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,181,000 after buying an additional 2,459,666 shares in 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.