Stevens Capital Management LP Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Stevens Capital Management LP lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 70.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,805 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 105.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $5.06 during mid-day trading 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 stock has a market cap of $72.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.40.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.