Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 12.9% in the first quarter, bringing their total shares to 21,435, valued at approximately $3,529,000.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their positions in Zoetis, with Wedbush Securities notably growing their stake by 91.0% during the same period.
• Zoetis has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, set to be paid on September 3rd, which represents an annual yield of 1.32%.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,435 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 91.0% during the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 3,895 shares in the last quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD grew its stake in Zoetis by 13.3% during the first quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 1,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.9% during the first quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 56,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.1% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,011,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of ZTS opened at $151.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $159.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.01.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued 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 1.32%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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