Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,383 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 44.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,493 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on 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 lowered their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded up $5.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $176.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,164,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,960,124. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. 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.