Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $32.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $26.32. Approximately 8,655,838 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 38,507,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.43.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp lifted its position in Pfizer by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,539 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 22.4% during 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 buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $146.72 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

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.