Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Acquires 4,981 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 75.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,546 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,981 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.15. 1,505,404 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,768. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $157.24 and its 200-day moving average is $164.41.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,188 shares of company stock valued at $367,289. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Zoetis

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.