Avalon Trust Co Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 217.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in 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. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.