Northern Trust Corp Increases Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,426,394 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.42% of Zoetis worth $1,047,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $153.78 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $158.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. 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 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.