Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Downgraded by Piper Sandler to “Neutral”

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $135.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $190.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. HSBC set a $140.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price target on Zoetis in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.91.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $124.35 on Thursday. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $115.25 and a fifty-two week high of $177.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64. The company has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $123.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.66.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.19% and a net margin of 28.21%.The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 35.69%.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 496.6% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 201.5% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 69.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.