Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 18,100 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 13.8%, acquiring an additional 18,100 shares and bringing its total holdings to 148,800 shares valued at approximately $24.5 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also modified their Zoetis holdings, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 180.4%, now owning 4,629 shares valued at $754,000.
• Analyst ratings for Zoetis have varied, with ratings changing from "buy" to "hold," and current consensus showing a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $204.63.

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Zoetis were worth $24,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the fourth 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 period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% in the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the company's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.4% in the first quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.34. 2,062,093 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,804,772. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $156.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners cut 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.63.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Zoetis

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.