Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Reduces Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 638 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $110,809,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $83,835,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $170.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.16. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.