Citigroup Inc. Buys 290,548 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 54.5%, owning a total of 823,950 shares worth approximately $135.7 million at the end of the most recent reporting period.
• Several hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Zoetis, with Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increasing their stakes significantly during the last quarter.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 to be paid to shareholders.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 54.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 823,950 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 290,548 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Zoetis worth $135,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $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 in 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 in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.2%

ZTS traded up $1.73 on Monday, reaching $149.08. 3,065,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,122,244. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $156.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $66.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 2.41 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ZTS. UBS Group decreased 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. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.