D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,299 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $157.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.14. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given 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 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.