YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $196,651,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $157.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.72 and a 200 day moving average of $163.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.13.

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.