Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 267 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,804,000 after purchasing an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,026,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,553,000 after buying an additional 91,713 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,428,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,512,000 after buying an additional 32,918 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,126,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,736,000 after buying an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $164.92 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.64 and its 200 day moving average is $178.93. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.