Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Price Down 2.9% Following Insider Selling

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) traded down 2.9% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $147.11 and last traded at $148.65. 1,591,615 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 2,965,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.11.

Specifically, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.49 and a 200 day moving average of $180.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $67.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.12%.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 12.7% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,218,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,134,000 after purchasing an additional 20,151 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 8,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.2% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 31,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,324,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.