Achmea Investment Management B.V. Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,312 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,697 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 67,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,020,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 26,137.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 497,467 shares of the company's stock worth $81,052,000 after purchasing an additional 495,571 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.2%

ZTS stock opened at $156.17 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $69.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $160.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.73.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The firm 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. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

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.

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