2,600 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Bought by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Zoetis by 371.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.09. 4,899,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,118,600. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

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.