Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 3,366 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Zoetis by 46.2% during 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock worth $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $1.99 on Friday, hitting $163.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,550,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,079. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.40 and a 200-day moving average of $174.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid 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 1.23%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis Company Profile

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.