Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $25.58 and last traded at $25.61. 11,209,758 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 41,489,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.33.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $143.72 billion, a PE ratio of 70.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.42.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.62%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 466.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after buying an additional 11,099,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after buying an additional 8,473,686 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 84,927,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,817,055,000 after buying an additional 348,628 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,129,927,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,972,300,000 after buying an additional 8,298,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.