Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.5% - Here's What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.61 and last traded at $26.66. 4,153,788 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 30,662,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.13 and a 200 day moving average of $28.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in 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 valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. 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.