Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.4% - What's Next?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $21.93 and last traded at $22.06. Approximately 8,859,930 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 47,901,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.57.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $128.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.69 and a 200 day moving average of $26.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm 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 was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.59%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,071,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $108,002,000 after buying an additional 1,080,822 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 118.7% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 294,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,820,000 after purchasing an additional 159,984 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $577,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 9,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 48,397 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.