Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Up 2.2%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) shot up 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $154.40 and last traded at $153.02. 4,967,617 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 3,610,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company 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%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,308,000 after buying an additional 6,457 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.9% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 4.0% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 24,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.