Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Cut by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,357 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $43,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Zoetis by 344.8% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 5,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $1,431,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $170.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.