Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 1.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.99 and last traded at $26.98. 10,144,238 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 24,757,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.15.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day moving average of $28.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.37%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 12.8% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 735,962 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,592,000 after acquiring an additional 83,754 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 35,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 7,955 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 4.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 16,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. 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.