Hoey Investments Inc. Sells 273 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Hoey Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 273 shares during the quarter. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth about $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $196,651,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $164.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.01. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.75.

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.