Insider Buying: Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Director Purchases 6,650 Shares of Stock

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Director Frank Damelio bought 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Zoetis Trading Down 3.4%

ZTS stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,797,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,968,603. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.28. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.29 and a 1 year high of $172.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.87.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price target on Zoetis in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,011,802,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,210 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $394,010,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.