Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 0.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $28.92 and last traded at $29.02. 6,301,429 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 36,952,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.91.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -481.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,800.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Pfizer by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,008,798,000 after buying an additional 2,241,609 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,104,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $450,593,000 after purchasing an additional 290,760 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $417,561,000 after buying an additional 470,003 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,260,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $287,077,000 after acquiring an additional 238,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 10.3% in the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,803,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $274,302,000 after purchasing an additional 912,156 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.