GFG Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GFG Capital LLC lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Zoetis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.00.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.9 %

Zoetis stock opened at $165.28 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.08. The company has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.