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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.64 and last traded at $26.43. 6,549,794 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 31,176,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PFE. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $150.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.98.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings 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 worth $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 394.2% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Pfizer by 26.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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