Barclays Trims Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Target Price to $230.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $260.00 to $230.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $218.00.

Zoetis Stock Up 3.3 %

Zoetis stock opened at $158.42 on Tuesday. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $171.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,074 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,757,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $176,219,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,923,000 after acquiring an additional 797,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.