Davis R M Inc. Has $20.92 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 1.9%, owning 127,053 shares valued at approximately $20.92 million after selling 2,499 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.48 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 27.12% and revenue of $2.22 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.34% with a payout ratio of 35.91%.

Davis R M Inc. decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,053 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 614.6% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.40. 3,145,852 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,147,848. The company has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.46. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The company 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.91%.

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.