Americana Partners LLC Sells 2,189 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Americana Partners LLC trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,189 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $1,646,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Zoetis by 1,677.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 43,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,283,000 after purchasing an additional 41,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 120,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $157.54 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.78.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.