Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 2.9% Following Strong Earnings

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares shot up 2.9% on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $26.69 and last traded at $26.62. 16,131,474 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 37,015,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.87.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PFE shares. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 80.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 394.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Pfizer by 26.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $149.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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.