Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes $1.09 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $154.77 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.