Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,479 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 201.5% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $125.50 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.25 and a 52 week high of $177.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.41. The company has a market cap of $55.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.19% and a net margin of 28.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 33.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 target price on Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.18.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.