Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.5% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $22.74 and last traded at $22.72. Approximately 10,806,038 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 40,445,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.39.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.47%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.57.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $130.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.58 and its 200 day moving average is $25.92.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Pfizer by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,071,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $108,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,822 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 118.7% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 294,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,820,000 after buying an additional 159,984 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $577,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 9,963 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 48,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.