Abbrea Capital LLC Buys 100 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,065 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN grew its position in Zoetis by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $153.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,566,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,093,785. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.58. 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 company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.432 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.