Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.8% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.46 and last traded at $22.44. 7,278,720 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 40,325,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.57.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $130.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after acquiring an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.