Perennial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Perennial Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,324 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Perennial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% in 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 during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $170.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $157.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.29.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,188 shares of company stock worth $367,289. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.