Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target Cut to $196.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $223.00 to $196.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ZTS. Barclays dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.38.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.5 %

ZTS stock opened at $168.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $76.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.93. Zoetis has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 5.2% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,034,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,001,000 after buying an additional 51,131 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 51.3% during the first quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 874,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,025,000 after purchasing an additional 296,782 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 226.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 7,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 36.4% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.