Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.57 and last traded at $24.2910. 51,843,144 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 42,726,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. CICC Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Pfizer from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.82.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.26. The company has a market capitalization of $138.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,613,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Pfizer by 119.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,106,644 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,773 shares during the period. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 171,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after acquiring an additional 57,777 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $468,174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978,927 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth $81,298,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pfizer

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.