Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives $215.22 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $215.22.

ZTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

ZTS traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.84. 6,184,068 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,552,173. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.10. The stock has a market cap of $74.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company's stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake 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 worth $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company's stock worth $812,695,000 after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company's stock worth $761,221,000 after buying an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zoetis

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.