Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 34.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 948 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $187,000 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. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,308,000 after purchasing an additional 6,457 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.9% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,374,000 after acquiring an additional 12,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $150.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.58. The company has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

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.