Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $27.46 Million Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased 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 fund purchased 168,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,457,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $723,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,001 shares of the company's stock worth $4,073,000 after buying an additional 12,908 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,152 shares of the company's stock worth $40,757,000 after buying an additional 15,298 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 267,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,581,000 after acquiring an additional 120,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

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Zoetis Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE:ZTS traded down $4.16 on Thursday, reaching $159.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,275,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,810. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.20 and a 200 day moving average of $173.98.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.