Griffin Asset Management Inc. Purchases 4,008 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 89.1% in the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Zoetis Stock Down 1.8 %

ZTS traded down $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,189,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,374,760. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $168.69 and its 200-day moving average is $178.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

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.