Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Trading 1.2% Higher

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s share price traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $155.00 and last traded at $151.85. 2,316,937 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 2,840,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.59.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $176,689.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,233.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $408,453 over the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 89.1% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.5% in the first quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 25,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.6% in the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 30.6% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 5,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 44.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.