Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Decreased by Congress Asset Management Co. MA

Congress Asset Management Co. MA decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 672,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,773 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA owned about 0.15% of Zoetis worth $113,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,308,000 after purchasing an additional 6,457 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $2,776,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,159,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,374,000 after purchasing an additional 12,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. HSBC dropped their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.91 on Friday, hitting $171.09. 4,899,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,118,600. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $78.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.20.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 33.14%.

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.