Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares were down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $23.78 and last traded at $24.0770. Approximately 57,636,159 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 42,574,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. Guggenheim raised their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Pfizer from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pfizer from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.82.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.74 and a 200 day moving average of $26.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.35.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.30%.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 115,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 22,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 3,376 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 164,898 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,971,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, MTM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

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.