Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.17% of Zoetis worth $6,739,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,355,000 after acquiring an additional 867,993 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,079. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.40 and its 200-day moving average is $174.67.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Barclays boosted 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis 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.