Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $212.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.7% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $161.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

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.