Berkeley Inc Takes $4.26 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Berkeley Inc bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,259,000. Zoetis makes up approximately 2.0% of Berkeley Inc's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Zoetis by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock worth $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Zoetis by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,710,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $156.16. 579,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,000,152. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.82. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% 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.