FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Trims Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 258 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Zoetis Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $174.81 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.40. The stock has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.