Zoetis Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ZTS)

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 8,106 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 300% compared to the average daily volume of 2,027 call options.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $149.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $143.85 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.95. 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) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Analysts predict that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 7,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 600.3% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 21,862 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.