Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Sells 257 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $160.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.33. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis 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.