Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,422 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,403 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Zoetis were worth $31,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:ZTS traded down $4.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,973,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,551,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $73.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $158.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.09. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.75.

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.