Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Raised by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 3.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately $45.3 million worth of the company's stock.
• Zoetis has recently seen adjustments in analyst ratings, with Leerink Partners reducing their rating from "outperform" to "market perform" and lowering the price target from $180 to $155.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 1.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.91%.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,167 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,294 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Zoetis worth $45,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 74.0% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 78,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 40,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm'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 value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $4.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $152.31. The company had a trading volume of 6,269,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,305,504. The stock has a market cap of $67.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $158.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.26.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

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.