Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price was up 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.79 and last traded at $25.77. Approximately 43,430,015 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 51,196,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.56.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $146.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,928,730,000 after buying an additional 10,198,330 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,087,408 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,620,747,000 after buying an additional 2,786,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 127,471,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,080,552,000 after buying an additional 1,820,634 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,270,157,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 64,019,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,631,225,000 after acquiring an additional 869,175 shares in 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.