Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) dropped 0.8% on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $31.00 to $29.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $26.23 and last traded at $26.92. Approximately 35,409,555 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 36,075,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.13.

PFE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.23 and a 200 day moving average of $28.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

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.