Diversified Portfolios Inc. Buys New Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,457 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.9% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $176,689.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,233.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $408,453. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $153.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.59. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.48 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.