Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,977 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $25,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $157.43 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.22.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.