Vantage Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 76,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,597,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock worth $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $212.13.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,974,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,075. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $159.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.06.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

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

Zoetis Company 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.