Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price fell 0.4% during trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $32.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $26.32. 8,655,838 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 38,507,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.43.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on PFE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research assumed 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. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased 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 valued at $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% during 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 raised its position in Pfizer by 80.9% in 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 lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $149.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.03 and its 200 day moving average is $28.24.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

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.