Hills Bank & Trust Co Purchases 250 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,332 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.82 and a 200-day moving average of $176.15. The stock has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-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 announced its 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.