Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Boosted by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,656 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,822 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 0.8% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ZTS traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $159.19. 1,375,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,569,728. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.05 and a 200 day moving average of $162.20. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

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.