Zoetis Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ZTS)

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 8,106 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 300% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,027 call options.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company's stock worth $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock worth $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $2.40 on Friday, hitting $149.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,850,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,264. The company has a market cap of $66.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average of $171.39. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.