Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 3.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were down 3.3% during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $28.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $24.92 and last traded at $25.5630. Approximately 110,937,503 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 116% from the average daily volume of 51,420,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.43.

PFE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Pfizer from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.06.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 36,600.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $142.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.82.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.