AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $14.24 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 145.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,476 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 51,314 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other 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 value 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 approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $148.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $66.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $160.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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