Tufton Capital Management Has $8.66 Million Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Tufton Capital Management lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 1.8% of Tufton Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 430.8% in the first quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 439.3% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,665,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,074. The firm has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.39. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $148.48 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

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.