Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.26 and last traded at $26.40. 8,775,446 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 32,051,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $148.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pfizer

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.