Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.36 and last traded at $26.18. 15,926,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 38,610,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.14.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.20. The company has a market cap of $149.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 164.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after buying an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.