Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at about $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 102.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.33.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $169.21. 3,345,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,915. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.03 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.34.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $176,689.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,233.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.