Wills Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wills Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,399 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for about 1.5% of Wills Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Wills Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $153.58 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.62.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

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.