Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stake Boosted by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter, owning 155,783 shares, valued at approximately $25.65 million.
• Zoetis reported an EPS of $1.76 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.62, with quarterly revenue of $2.46 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 to be paid on September 3rd, representing an annualized yield of 1.4% based on a payout ratio of 35.91%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,783 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,868 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $25,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 79.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Zoetis by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% in the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ZTS traded down $0.90 on Friday, hitting $147.34. 2,062,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,122,028. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $157.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.42%.

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.