Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 4,196 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,307 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $29,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $161.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $159.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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