Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives $215.90 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.90.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.39 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $166.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.