Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 430.8% during the first quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 439.3% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter worth about $26,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.2 %

ZTS stock traded up $3.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.02. The company had a trading volume of 4,967,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,610,045. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.48 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.25 and a 200 day moving average of $180.59. The company has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 announced 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). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.12%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis 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.