Advent Capital Management DE Has $3.29 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Advent Capital Management DE increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 33.3%, now holding 20,000 shares valued at approximately $3.29 million.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly EPS of $1.76, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $2.46 billion, marking a 4.2% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, corresponding to a 1.4% annual yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 34.42%.

Advent Capital Management DE grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Advent Capital Management DE's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 24.7% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 100.3% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,140,000 after buying an additional 198,089 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 31.2% in the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 117.6% in the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $147.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $65.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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