Haverford Trust Co Sells 3,777 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Haverford Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,777 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $162.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $72.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.38.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Company 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.