Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.90.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.04. The stock had a trading volume of 769,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,977,211. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

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Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.