Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by XXEC Inc.

XXEC Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up 2.7% of XXEC Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 89.1% during the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 371.4% during 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. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.13.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.3 %

ZTS stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.17. 3,647,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,147,432. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

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.