Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price shot up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.01 and last traded at $25.4370. 50,585,813 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 46,355,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.06.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $144.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.93.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $2,270,157,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 203.8% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 9,012,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $229,346,000 after buying an additional 6,045,763 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $468,174,000 after buying an additional 5,978,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.