Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Trading 6.1% Higher

Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) were up 6.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $181.51 and last traded at $181.40. Approximately 712,152 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,931,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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 cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.81. The company has a market cap of $79.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 153.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $389,000. United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in Zoetis by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Company Profile

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.