ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys New Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc., purchasing 31,036 shares valued at approximately $5,110,000 in the first quarter.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Zoetis reported $1.76 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.
• Zoetis has declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,110,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 27.2% during the first quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the company's stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock worth $6,842,222,000 after buying an additional 189,287 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock worth $847,293,000 after buying an additional 109,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 20.2% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $148.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $157.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.94. The stock has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

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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