Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS)

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 11,543 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 407% compared to the average daily volume of 2,278 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 7.3% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 6,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 46,386 shares of the company's stock worth $7,637,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.7% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $153.78. 1,873,383 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,498,843. Zoetis has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

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.

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