Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,304,166 shares of the company's stock after selling 257,744 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.19% of Zoetis worth $873,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $159.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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