First Foundation Advisors Buys 2,059 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

First Foundation Advisors lifted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Zoetis by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $147.70 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $66.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.