Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.40.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $166.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.66. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $4,593,000. American Trust increased its stake in Zoetis by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 16,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $3,751,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 12,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wormser Freres Gestion now owns 45,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,419,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. 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.