Insider Buying: Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Director Acquires $501,343.50 in Stock

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Director Frank Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.8%

Zoetis stock opened at $74.11 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.38 and a fifty-two week high of $172.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.94. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.87.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,028,423,000 after acquiring an additional 23,877,416 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $394,010,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,578 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.