Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $170,000 Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,045 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.9 %

Zoetis stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.90.

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.