Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Director Sells $201,029.40 in Stock

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $164.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ZTS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after buying an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.