Advent Capital Management DE Invests $2.44 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Advent Capital Management DE acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,444,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 2.4% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 29.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 801.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $149.15 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $161.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.76. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.40.

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.