Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.89 and last traded at $26.69. 18,413,845 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 38,868,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.30 and a 200 day moving average of $27.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. This is a boost 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 presently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Pfizer by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.