Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.11 and last traded at $26.13. Approximately 7,239,187 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 38,500,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PFE. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. UBS Group cut their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $148.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.27.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.