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

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 335,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,707,000 after acquiring an additional 22,637 shares during the period. New World Advisors LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,530,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $898,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $342,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $164.99 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.58. The company has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.