SlateStone Wealth LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 7.4%, acquiring an additional 1,934 shares, bringing its total holdings to 28,125 shares valued at $4.63 million.
• Zoetis reported earnings per share of $1.48 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 1.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.32%, and a payout ratio of 35.91%.

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,125 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,934 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.3% in the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 4.4% in the first quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners lowered 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 research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ZTS traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.40. 3,145,842 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,061,625. The business's 50 day moving average is $158.82 and its 200-day moving average is $160.58. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 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 (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.