Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares were down 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.58 and last traded at $26.87. Approximately 39,189,514 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 50,495,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 target price on Pfizer and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Pfizer from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.91 and a 200-day moving average of $25.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 12.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,479,520,000 after acquiring an additional 7,031,162 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,481,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,756 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 130,192,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,235,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,728 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,270,157,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Pfizer by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.