Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) rose 4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.45 and last traded at $26.26. Approximately 30,497,885 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 38,455,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.14.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $146.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 6.67%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% in the third 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 buying an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after buying an additional 227,349 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 394.2% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 639,985 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.