Van ECK Associates Corp Has $113.71 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 576,118 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,470 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $113,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% in 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 last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in Zoetis by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $216.13.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.21. 1,032,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,114,613. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.