Oxford Asset Management LLP Buys Shares of 5,981 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $974,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in 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 period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $178,688,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS traded up $1.96 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,065,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,487,704. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $158.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.