Zoetis Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:ZTS)

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th.

Zoetis has a dividend payout ratio of 29.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Zoetis to earn $6.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.6%.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $152.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.