Richardson Financial Services Inc. Buys Shares of 2,565 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,457 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $2,159,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,374,000 after buying an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $170.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,225,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,110,836. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.51. The company has a market capitalization of $77.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.33. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.75.

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.