Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Finally, Garrett Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. 90.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,855 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Friday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.31, for a total transaction of $301,085.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,786.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 2,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total value of $387,806.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,239,025.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,356 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,341 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $275.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.75.
Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $178.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.01. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.18 and a 52-week high of $249.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.
Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.10. Zoetis had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 26.27%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 21st will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 20th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.
About Zoetis (Get Rating)
Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.
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Source: defenseworld.net
