Zhang Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Zhang Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter worth approximately $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Zoetis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 92.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 3.9 %

ZTS traded down $5.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $147.12. 3,849,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,999,227. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $176.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.91 and a 1-year high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.12%.

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.