Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Trimmed by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $146.78 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.60. The company has a market capitalization of $65.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. 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.