Napatree Capital LLC Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,123 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Napatree Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,423,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $458,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 15.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,107,000 after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % 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 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $162.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.47.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. 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.