Bell Asset Management Ltd Acquires 4,371 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,581 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for about 1.2% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents 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 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $151.76 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.71 and a 200 day moving average of $173.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $67.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.69 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.