Procyon Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,512 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in Zoetis by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Zoetis by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 92.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $237.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.33.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $169.08. 297,821 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,687,886. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.03 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The company has a market cap of $77.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.34.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of Zoetis 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 approximately $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.