Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Trims Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its stock holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 18.1%, owning 10,283 shares valued at $1,693,000 after selling 2,271 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Redmond Asset Management LLC and American Century Companies Inc., changed their stakes in Zoetis, reflecting significant institutional interest, with 92.80% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Zoetis recently reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $1.76, surpassing the consensus estimate, alongside announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50, indicating a yield of 1.3%.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,283 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,271 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter worth $202,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,742 shares of the company's stock worth $178,767,000 after purchasing an additional 53,001 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5.7% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 48,055 shares of the company's stock worth $7,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd. grew its stake in Zoetis by 1.9% in the first quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 303,063 shares of the company's stock worth $49,899,000 after purchasing an additional 5,621 shares during the period. Finally, Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth $2,758,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Zoetis Trading Up 0.7%

Zoetis stock opened at $154.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $154.94 and its 200 day moving average is $159.20.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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.

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