Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Buys 439 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 141.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 614.6% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $161.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.74. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.