Amundi Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Amundi boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $453,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after buying an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

Zoetis stock opened at $170.34 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.78. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.