Howard Capital Management Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises approximately 1.4% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $17,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $168.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $158.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly 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 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 for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research 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 raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.