Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stake Reduced by LaFleur & Godfrey LLC

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,158 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 180.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,354,000 after buying an additional 21,470 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Zoetis by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 101,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,588,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $157.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.61 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.10. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ZTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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 downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.13.

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.