Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.52 and last traded at $26.62. 5,942,854 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 37,909,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $149.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.33 and its 200 day moving average is $27.37. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 6.52%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $274,694,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.