Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Has $3.11 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,907 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $158.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis 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.