Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Sells 4,590 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Prosperity Consulting Group LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 46.6%, now holding 5,262 shares valued at $866,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 92.80%, with several hedge funds adjusting their positions, including notable increases by Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. and Portside Wealth Group LLC.
• Zoetis reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.48 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.40, along with a quarterly revenue of $2.22 billion.

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 46.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,590 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock worth $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 100.3% in the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,140,000 after buying an additional 198,089 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $380,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler increased 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. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.87. 1,670,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,050,811. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.82 and a 200-day moving average of $160.58. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $65.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.