Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 5.1%, owning approximately 1,085,742 shares valued at $178.77 million.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Zoetis, with four holding a "hold" rating and five issuing a "buy" rating, while the consensus price target sits at $202.43.
• Zoetis reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 4.2% increase in year-over-year revenue.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,085,742 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 53,001 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Zoetis worth $178,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at about $616,375,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at about $339,111,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 4,158.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,824,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,110 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 17.6% in the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2%

Zoetis stock traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $152.28. 2,158,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,678,922. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $154.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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.