Fisher Funds Management LTD Invests $66.12 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 406,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,123,000. Zoetis accounts for 1.6% of Fisher Funds Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in 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 period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.9 %

ZTS stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.99. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.40.

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.