Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Up 0.9%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s share price shot up 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $153.67 and last traded at $152.86. 1,057,616 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,938,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $66.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $745,861,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Zoetis by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,074 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Zoetis by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 171.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.