Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,733 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $162.86 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. 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 market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.52.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 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.