Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Raised by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 90.5% in the first quarter, owning 109,778 shares worth approximately $18.1 million.
• The quarterly earnings report revealed that Zoetis surpassed expectations, reporting $1.48 earnings per share and $2.22 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing a 1.3% dividend yield with an ex-dividend date set for July 18th.

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 90.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,778 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,155 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Zoetis were worth $18,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter worth approximately $369,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.8% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 155,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,650,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 32.6% in the first quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 5,953 shares of the company's stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 16,168 shares of the company's stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.1% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 835,214 shares of the company's stock worth $137,476,000 after purchasing an additional 76,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $148.11. 3,759,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,789,991. The company has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $157.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

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.