Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s stock price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.13 and last traded at $160.19. 853,972 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 3,112,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered 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 set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $72.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 89.1% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $35,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.