Saturna Capital Corp Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Saturna Capital Corp decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $164.39 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $73.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.55.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.