First Foundation Advisors Buys 2,059 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,301 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,059 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 72,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 233,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,618,000 after acquiring an additional 37,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 3.8 %

Zoetis stock opened at $147.70 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.01. The stock has a market cap of $66.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Zoetis’s dividend 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.