Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $28.10 and last traded at $28.16. 39,199,436 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 36,838,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.06 and a 200-day moving average of $28.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 10,314 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 51,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 16,060 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.