Capital International Sarl Acquires 6,992 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Capital International Sarl raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,774 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,992 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl's holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.93. 745,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,671. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 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 stock has a market capitalization of $67.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.