Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Up 0.8%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s stock price shot up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $151.46 and last traded at $150.82. 1,098,559 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 3,040,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.78.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’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 owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,074 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,757,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth $176,219,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,923,000 after purchasing an additional 797,884 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.