Sfmg LLC Takes $3.35 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Sfmg LLC has acquired 20,350 shares of Zoetis Inc. in the first quarter, valued at approximately $3,351,000.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings of $1.48 per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $2.22 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding about 1.4%, set to be paid on September 3rd.

Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,351,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 24.7% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 100.3% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock worth $65,140,000 after purchasing an additional 198,089 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 31.2% in the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $146.63. 4,986,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,700,439. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $157.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.16.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.16% and a net margin of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Zoetis's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

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.