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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $25.51 and last traded at $25.45. 66,305,132 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 51,441,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $144.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.45.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Westbourne Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,411,000. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,968,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,127,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,322,000 after purchasing an additional 41,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 17.4% in the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 78,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 11,643 shares during the last quarter. 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.