Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.90.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $178,688,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $151.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.71 and a 200-day moving average of $173.43. 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 data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.