Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Trading Down 4.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) dropped 4.4% on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $243.00 to $238.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Zoetis traded as low as $158.36 and last traded at $157.69. Approximately 1,536,488 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 2,906,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.93.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other 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 value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, VeraBank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

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.