iA Global Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 44% in Q1, acquiring an additional 9,320 shares, bringing its total holdings to 30,481 shares valued at over $5 million.
• Institutional investors now own 92.80% of Zoetis's stock, with several major firms, including Mackenzie Financial Corp and GAMMA Investing LLC, making significant increases to their positions during the same period.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share payable on September 3, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 35.91%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 44.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,481 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,320 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Three Seasons Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 8,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 17,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,318 shares during the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 12,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $153,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

ZTS traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,062,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,804,772. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.80. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price 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 downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 directly 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 through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.