Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Zoetis by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, 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 have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $148.64 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $66.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $160.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.96.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.