Scott & Selber Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Scott & Selber Inc. cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,394,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,042,000 after purchasing an additional 39,448 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $170.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.16. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.