Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 482,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,915 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.11% of Zoetis worth $70,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth $809,491,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $394,010,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Zoetis by 113.0% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,761,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,491 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 85.9% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,578,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,840 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Zoetis by 362.6% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,176,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,705,000 after buying an additional 922,589 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $127.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.96 and a 200 day moving average of $136.01. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.25 and a fifty-two week high of $177.00.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group set a $136.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC set a $140.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.45.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.