Morgan Stanley Cuts Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target to $238.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $238.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

ZTS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $157.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.51 and a 200 day moving average of $178.79. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The firm has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 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.