Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ZTS. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $176.81 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $183.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Zoetis by 546.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 56.2% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,946,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,407,000 after purchasing an additional 700,398 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.