Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was up 0.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.80 and last traded at $25.79. Approximately 7,103,489 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 37,091,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $146.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.67%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,756,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923,537 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,328,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.