HSBC Trims Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Target Price to $225.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by HSBC from $230.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HSBC's price target points to a potential upside of 36.43% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ZTS. Barclays cut their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $3.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $164.92. 4,669,191 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,195,939. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-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. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.93.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,757,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $176,219,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,923,000 after purchasing an additional 797,884 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is 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.