Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.6% - What's Next?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $26.22 and last traded at $26.33. 9,563,980 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 31,057,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.7 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.00. The company has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 6.54%. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares during 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.