37,206 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

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 bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 37,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,126,000. Zoetis makes up approximately 0.6% of Entropy Technologies LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at about $339,111,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4,158.3% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,824,967 shares of the company's stock worth $300,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,110 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock worth $1,448,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313,653 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $178,688,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.5%

ZTS traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $153.16. 2,565,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,780,302. The stock has a market cap of $67.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average is $155.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

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.