Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $382.06 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,344,976 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,564 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.52% of Zoetis worth $382,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.52. 2,147,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,037,533. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.10. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. 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 posted 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 firm 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 1.31%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ZTS shares. 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. Barclays raised 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 $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

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.