Roxanne Lagano Sells 326 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.47. 2,309,359 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,620,784. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.15. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The firm has a market cap of $78.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.00.

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.