Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.43 on December 3rd

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.432 per share on Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st.

Zoetis has raised its dividend payment by an average of 23.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Zoetis has a payout ratio of 26.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Zoetis to earn $6.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.73 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.9%.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $182.76 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $82.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.03. Zoetis has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

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.