Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.01 and last traded at $26.19. Approximately 8,671,495 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 37,764,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFE. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $149.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.34. 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 (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. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. 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%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.