Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

ZTS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.0 %

ZTS opened at $164.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.25 and its 200 day moving average is $177.49. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Zoetis by 23.4% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,594,000 after purchasing an additional 20,001 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 27,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.