Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.6% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) traded up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.36 and last traded at $26.18. 15,926,336 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 38,610,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.14.

Pfizer Price Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $26.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business 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%. Pfizer'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 earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.7% in the third quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 186,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,402,000 after buying an additional 4,887 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $577,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 2.7% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 580,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,801,000 after acquiring an additional 15,160 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in Pfizer by 19.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 92,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 14,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 23.9% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 762,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,082,000 after purchasing an additional 147,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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.