Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 1.5% After Dividend Announcement

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $22.74 and last traded at $22.72. 10,806,038 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 40,445,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.39.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.56%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.57.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.69 and a 200 day moving average of $26.06. The company has a market capitalization of $128.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its position in Pfizer by 8.4% in the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 25,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $1,499,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 7.7% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 8.4% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $2,649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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