Jensen Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,123,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,972 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for 3.1% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $345,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $161.33 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.10. The stock has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ZTS. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.