Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Pfizer's stock price dropped by 1% recently, trading at $24.54 with a significant decline in trading volume, down 73% from the average.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed outlooks, with two analysts rating it as a Strong Buy while others issued Hold or neutral ratings, resulting in an average target price of $28.12.
• Pfizer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding 7.0%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 91.49%.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.46 and last traded at $24.54. Approximately 11,948,733 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 44,808,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.12.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $139.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $2,270,157,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 856.8% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,053,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $508,164,000 after buying an additional 17,957,928 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,265,277,000 after acquiring an additional 15,758,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $389,861,000. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $407,730,000. 68.36% of the stock is 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.

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