Blue Chip Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Blue Chip Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 99,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,787 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up 1.4% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $157.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.