Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was down 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.58 and last traded at $26.87. Approximately 39,189,514 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 50,495,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 price target on Pfizer and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.8%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.47.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 20.25%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,270,157,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Pfizer by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Pfizer by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after buying an additional 13,581,757 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,928,730,000 after acquiring an additional 10,198,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $638,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,108,887 shares in 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.