Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $211.89.

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.0 %

ZTS traded down $3.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,617,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,433. Zoetis has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $171.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.