Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 62.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,178 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $196,651,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's 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 now owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,188 shares of company stock valued at $367,289. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9%

ZTS traded up $1.54 on Friday, hitting $170.15. 1,505,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,031. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.37. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's 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.