Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,581 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for approximately 1.2% of Bell Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $149.40. 2,850,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,624,264. The stock has a market cap of $66.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.51 and a 200-day moving average of $171.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business 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%. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.