Lantz Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 79.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,221 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 17,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:ZTS opened at $168.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.