Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $173.88, but opened at $161.99. Zoetis shares last traded at $155.57, with a volume of 1,829,505 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.5 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $824,321,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Zoetis

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.