Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,831 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up approximately 1.3% of Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,147,730,000 after buying an additional 297,044 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Zoetis by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,464,000 after purchasing an additional 27,097 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,804,000 after purchasing an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $745,861,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ZTS traded up $0.80 during trading on Thursday, reaching $152.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 869,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,932,597. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.39. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.48 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.