Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,167 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 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 have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.2 %

ZTS opened at $162.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.