Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 37,206 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has made a new investment in Zoetis Inc. by purchasing 37,206 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million, making it the fund's 29th largest position.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.76 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.46 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 37,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,126,000. Zoetis comprises 0.6% of Entropy Technologies LP's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 17.6% in the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after buying an additional 1,313,653 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Zoetis by 1.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,755,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,708,000 after buying an additional 44,977 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 46.4% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 230,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,002,000 after buying an additional 73,123 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Zoetis by 54.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 13.9% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.53. 106,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,102,402. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents 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 at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs lowered 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 cut their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.25.

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.