Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Invests $292,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Zoetis by 214.7% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after buying an additional 562,259 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 27,671.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after buying an additional 477,602 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 34.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after buying an additional 403,164 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 53.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,753,000 after buying an additional 329,543 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 3.3 %

ZTS traded up $5.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $158.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,236,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,019,007. The company has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.31.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $218.00.

About Zoetis

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.