Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $214.90.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth 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. raised its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th 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 bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $157.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.98. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.