Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 157,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,977 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $25,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,764,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $157.43 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.31 and its 200-day moving average is $167.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

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.