Principal Securities Inc. Sells 1,230 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Principal Securities Inc. lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Zoetis by 23.4% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,594,000 after buying an additional 20,001 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 90,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after acquiring an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $244,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 8.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,882,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $156.43 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.