Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,977 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,985 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 141.4% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the 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 now owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $164.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $159.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.

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