Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $5 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 36.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,860 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Zoetis by 89.1% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Zoetis by 371.4% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $35,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC reduced their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $174.57. 276,116 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,947,970. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $79.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.59.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.