Berger Financial Group Inc Trims Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Berger Financial Group Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Barclays increased their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $153.58 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $158.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.32. The company has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.