Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price shot up 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.64 and last traded at $26.43. 6,549,794 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 31,176,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.07 and a 200-day moving average of $27.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 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.