Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $688,000 Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 4,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $210,815,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $242,757,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,923,000 after acquiring an additional 797,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $1.83 on Friday, hitting $180.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,699,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,898,130. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $175.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.72.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.67.

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.