Eastern Bank Has $5.38 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank significantly reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 76.8% in Q1, owning only 32,660 shares worth approximately $5.38 million after selling over 100,000 shares.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their positions in Zoetis during the fourth quarter, with Arrowstreet Capital raising its holdings by a staggering 1,269.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Zoetis, with the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" and a target price of around $204.63, reflecting recent downgrades by various firms.

Eastern Bank trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 76.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,660 shares of the company's stock after selling 108,387 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Zoetis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock worth $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock worth $5,550,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 100.3% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock worth $65,140,000 after buying an additional 198,089 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at about $380,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.40. The company had a trading volume of 3,145,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,061,625. The firm has a market cap of $65.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $158.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.58. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Zoetis

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.