Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st.

Zoetis has increased its dividend by an average of 18.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Zoetis has a payout ratio of 28.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Zoetis to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.6%.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $171.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.