Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 617,470 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,229 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.13% of Zoetis worth $102,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Zoetis by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Zoetis by 171.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,005,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.18% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $220.50.
Zoetis Price Performance
Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.26% and a net margin of 25.59%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.
Zoetis Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 4,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $763,227.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,357 shares in the company, valued at $4,637,250.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Zoetis
Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It 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.
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