Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 477 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 214.7% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after acquiring an additional 562,259 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 27,671.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after acquiring an additional 477,602 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,764,000 after purchasing an additional 403,164 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 53.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,753,000 after purchasing an additional 329,543 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of ZTS traded up $5.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $158.42. The company had a trading volume of 5,236,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,117,213. The company has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $171.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.29. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

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.