National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,212,614 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279,215 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.27% of Zoetis worth $197,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.40.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.0 %

Zoetis stock opened at $168.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.66. The firm has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

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.