Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Abbrea Capital LLC

Abbrea Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 105.5% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN grew its position in Zoetis by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock traded up $2.48 on Thursday, reaching $153.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,566,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,093,785. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a market capitalization of $70.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 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 dividend yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. 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, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.