DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,014 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,257 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in Zoetis by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in Zoetis by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $163.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.55.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.