2,239 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Bought by Allianz SE

Key Points

• Allianz SE has invested approximately $369,000 in Zoetis Inc., acquiring 2,239 shares during the first quarter, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Despite the investment from Allianz, analysts have diverse views on Zoetis, with some lowering their price targets and ratings, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $204.63.
• Zoetis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which will be paid to investors on September 3rd, representing an annual yield of 1.4%.

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $339,111,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4,158.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,824,967 shares of the company's stock worth $300,481,000 after buying an additional 1,782,110 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,688,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Zoetis by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $146.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,986,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,700,439. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $157.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.16% and a net margin of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.