Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 88.9% in the first quarter, owning a total of 27,778 shares valued at $4,574,000.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their positions in Zoetis, with Mackenzie Financial Corp growing its holdings by over 4,158% to nearly 1.8 million shares, and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by over 14,731%.
• Analyst ratings for Zoetis have been mixed, with some firms like Leerink Partners and Stifel Nicolaus lowering their ratings, while others, including Piper Sandler, raised their price targets, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $204.63.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 88.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,778 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,073 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,354,000 after acquiring an additional 21,470 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Zoetis by 1,269.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 267,679 shares of the company's stock worth $43,613,000 after purchasing an additional 248,131 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Zoetis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock worth $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,152 shares of the company's stock worth $40,757,000 after acquiring an additional 15,298 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.40. 3,145,852 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,147,848. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. 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 $65.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $158.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.46.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.