NewEdge Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $148.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $66.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.96.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis 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.