Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 62,458 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. has reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 11.8%, now holding approximately $76.99 million in shares after selling 62,458 shares.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Zoetis during the same quarter, with Bfsg LLC boosting its holdings by an astonishing 614.6%.
• Zoetis recently reported an earnings per share of $1.48, above analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting a yield of 1.32%.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 467,602 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,458 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.10% of Zoetis worth $76,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 180.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock worth $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1,269.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 267,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,613,000 after purchasing an additional 248,131 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,152 shares of the company's stock worth $40,757,000 after buying an additional 15,298 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.40. 3,145,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,061,625. The company's 50 day moving average is $158.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.58. The company has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.