National Bank of Canada FI Has $60.68 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,148 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,577 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $60,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 371.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $35,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in Zoetis by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.07. 3,007,125 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,607,073. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.93. The firm has a market cap of $76.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.