Sentinel Trust Co. LBA Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sentinel Trust Co. LBA grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,951 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the quarter. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 10,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,835,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 26,137.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 497,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,052,000 after acquiring an additional 495,571 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 93,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,171,000 after acquiring an additional 39,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $164.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.