Quilter Plc Acquires 22,154 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 375,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,154 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $61,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after buying an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $156.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.13.

Zoetis 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.