Brokerages Set Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Target Price at $33.58

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.92.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Pfizer Stock Down 4.7 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $24.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $140.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

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.