J. Stern & Co. LLP Has $34.82 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,757 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 3.3% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings in Zoetis were worth $34,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company's stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Zoetis by 801.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company's stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,543,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,501,356. The business's 50 day moving average price is $158.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.47. The company has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.