1ST Source Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

1ST Source Bank lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 90.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 328.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 7,980 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued 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 1.21%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Zoetis

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.