Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.95 and last traded at $25.8410. Approximately 95,636,721 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the average daily volume of 50,615,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.18.

Pfizer Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.75 and a 200-day moving average of $24.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 68,827 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 15,013 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 72,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter valued at $310,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 3.3% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 10.8% in the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 39,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.