Pfizer to boost COVID vaccine prices

Article Excerpt

PFIZER INC. $46 is a buy. The company (New York symbol PFE; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 5.6 billion; Market cap: $257.6 billion; Dividend yield: 3.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.pfizer.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of prescription drugs. Its top-selling brands include Eliquis (stroke), Ibrance (breast cancer) and Prevnar (pneumonia). Pfizer has increased its dividend rate each year since 2011. Starting with the March 2022 payment, the company raised your quarterly dividend by 2.6%. Investors now receive $0.40 a share instead of $0.39. The new annual rate of $1.60 yields a solid 3.5%. The U.S. government will stop purchasing and distributing the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in 2023. As a result, Pfizer will increase the price to between $110 and $130 per dose compared to $20 under the current contract. Despite the increase, the new price is still well below prices for other vaccines. As well, those without private health insurance would still receive the vaccine at no cost. Pfizer is a buy…