Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price was up 1.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.89 and last traded at $26.69. Approximately 18,413,845 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 38,868,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFE. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $151.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.30 and a 200 day moving average of $27.24.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $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.