Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 9,471 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,408 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,471 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,852,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7.3% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $253,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $163.76 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.81 and a 200-day moving average of $175.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

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.