Invesco Ltd. Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 1.7%, acquiring an additional 44,977 shares, bringing its total ownership to 2,755,588 shares valued at approximately $453.7 million.
• Zoetis reported a $1.76 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.62, with revenues of $2.46 billion, marking a 4.2% increase year-over-year.
• The firm will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share on September 3rd, with a current dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,755,588 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,977 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.62% of Zoetis worth $453,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Zoetis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock worth $68,354,000 after acquiring an additional 21,470 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 13,094 shares of the company's stock worth $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.25.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

ZTS traded up $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $149.72. 2,578,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,848,447. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.