Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 2.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were up 2.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.73 and last traded at $27.61. Approximately 43,662,023 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 53,105,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. UBS Group started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.06.

Pfizer Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $156.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 126.47%.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 174.8% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Curio Wealth LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 36,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 427 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.