Independence Bank of Kentucky Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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 research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,188 shares of company stock valued at $367,289 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.9%

Zoetis stock opened at $170.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.29. 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 company has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.