Summit Global Investments Has $1.75 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Summit Global Investments lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,510 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 188,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,249,000 after acquiring an additional 11,547 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $647,000. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 68,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,216 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $216.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $167.07. 2,977,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,178,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $169.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.89. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid 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 yield of 1.03%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

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.