Private Trust Co. NA Reduces Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $1,764,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Zoetis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after buying an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $167.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.38. The stock has a market cap of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 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 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.