SFE Investment Counsel Buys 100 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,013 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,457 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $152.51. 3,453,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,040. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.48 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.39.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

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.