Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,045 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.51 and its 200-day moving average is $178.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

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.