Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $26.52 and last traded at $26.57. 5,717,203 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 18,795,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued 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 price target of $32.14.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $151.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.07.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently 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.