LPL Financial LLC Increases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 10.2% in Q1, acquiring a total of 437,304 shares worth approximately $71.64 million.
• Zoetis reported Q1 earnings of $1.48 per share, exceeding expectations by $0.08, with a revenue of $2.22 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.34%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 35.91%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,304 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,453 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.10% of Zoetis worth $71,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at about $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,688,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 475.9% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 900,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,228,000 after acquiring an additional 743,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,145,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,147,848. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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