Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Buys 163,502 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 37.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 163,502 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 1.2% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned about 0.13% of Zoetis worth $93,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,354,000 after buying an additional 21,470 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $151.46 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.62. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $67.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.63.

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.