Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.3% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 0.3% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $25.50 and last traded at $25.44. 6,839,970 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 38,396,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.37.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.23 and its 200-day moving average is $28.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Pfizer by 37.1% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 122,054 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 4.4% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 79,396 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,316 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 23,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. 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.