Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price traded down 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $24.97 and last traded at $25.0750. 96,362,231 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 88% from the average session volume of 51,205,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $142.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $2,270,157,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 856.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $508,164,000 after acquiring an additional 17,957,928 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,265,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,758,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $389,861,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,928,730,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198,330 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.