Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Price Up 1.8%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $148.94 and last traded at $148.11. Approximately 1,338,887 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 3,027,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Zoetis Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.9% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 10,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 67,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,342,000 after buying an additional 7,217 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 25,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,267,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 19.6% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pegasus Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth about $1,137,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.