GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires Shares of 10,924 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $165.20. 1,723,724 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,525,518. The company has a market capitalization of $73.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The firm's 50-day moving average is $156.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued 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 1.21%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

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.