Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $143.85 and last traded at $144.88, with a volume of 343574 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.5 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $66.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently 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.