Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 25,048 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 16.9%, selling 25,048 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 123,285 shares valued at approximately $20.3 million.
• Several analysts have updated their opinions on Zoetis, with Piper Sandler raising its target price to $210.00, while Stifel Nicolaus and UBS Group have downgraded their ratings and reduced their price targets significantly.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting an annualized dividend payout of $2.00 and a yield of 1.32%, scheduled to be paid in September.

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,048 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Zoetis by 100.1% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 5,541 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Zoetis by 150.4% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 443.8% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 5,880 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $660,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 9.5% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 23,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ZTS traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.40. 3,145,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,061,625. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.58. The stock has a market cap of $65.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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