Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 587,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,105 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $116,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 15,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Zoetis by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its stake in Zoetis by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 180,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,652,000 after purchasing an additional 28,839 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 345.3% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 6,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,031 shares during the period. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $1.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $153.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,767,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,947,173. The firm has a market cap of $70.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.48 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.39.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

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.