Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.95 and last traded at $25.84. 6,336,672 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 38,405,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $146.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Pfizer by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 274,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,626,000 after acquiring an additional 29,688 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Pfizer by 174.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,202,086 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399,527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management lifted its position in Pfizer by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 102,909 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,856,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,765,000. 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.