Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 46.4% during Q1, owning 230,801 shares valued at approximately $38 million.
• In the recent earnings report, Zoetis surpassed analysts' expectations, posting earnings of $1.76 per share and revenue of $2.46 billion, marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.4%, to be paid on September 3rd.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 46.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,801 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,123 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Zoetis worth $38,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 54.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,983,000. Morton Community Bank grew its position in Zoetis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 17,544 shares of the company's stock worth $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 232,668 shares of the company's stock worth $38,309,000 after purchasing an additional 34,706 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.25.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ZTS traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.72. 2,578,354 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,116,346. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $156.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.57. The company has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 34.42%.

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.