Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $195.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $220.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ZTS. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $153.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis has a one year low of $148.48 and a one year high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $408,453. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 430.8% in the first quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 439.3% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.