Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Trading Up 0.5% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s share price was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $171.69 and last traded at $168.00. Approximately 948,938 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,153,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.23.

The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.13.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Zoetis by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,757,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,219,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,923,000 after acquiring an additional 797,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $76.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36.

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.