Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.52 and last traded at $25.60. Approximately 11,083,563 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 39,512,609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $146.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.68%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake 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 raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.