Willie M. Reed Sells 1,210 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.6 %

ZTS stock opened at $161.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.44.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.