Morgan Stanley Cuts Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target to $243.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $248.00 to $243.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ZTS. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $170.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.54. The company has a market cap of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.