Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Price Up 0.2%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s stock price rose 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $151.90 and last traded at $151.18. Approximately 1,224,514 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 3,050,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $218.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.29.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 63,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Zoetis by 472.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 75,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,720,000 after acquiring an additional 62,037 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 31,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,270,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.