Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $80.87 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 491,188 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,101 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Zoetis worth $80,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $6.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $155.21. 4,661,667 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,563,453. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $69.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.26 and a 200 day moving average of $163.68.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 1.29%. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 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.