NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,946 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.71. 5,467,815 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,285. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm's fifty day moving average is $156.80 and its 200-day moving average is $164.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.19%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.