Bennett Selby Investments LP Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 105.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,975 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,646 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises about 0.7% of Bennett Selby Investments LP's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bennett Selby Investments LP's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $166.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,473,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,544,736. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.14. The company has a market capitalization of $74.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Zoetis 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.