Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Reduced by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 561 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. L & S Advisors Inc grew its position in Zoetis by 1.7% during the first quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 16,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management grew its position in Zoetis by 10.1% during the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 835,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,476,000 after purchasing an additional 76,879 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Zoetis by 143.0% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 180,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,749,000 after purchasing an additional 106,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Zoetis by 64.5% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $147.40 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. 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 earned $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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. Investors 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 1.4%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.