Motco Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Motco has increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 4.2%, totaling approximately $8.95 million, after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have downgraded their ratings for Zoetis, with Leerink Partners adjusting their price objective from $180 to $155, while expectations around the company's earnings per share for the current year stand at 6.07.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with a dividend yield of 1.32%, payable on September 3rd, reflecting a 35.91% payout ratio.

Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,382 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,198 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the period. 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. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 328,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,466,000 after acquiring an additional 34,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 26,386 shares of the company's stock worth $4,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Zoetis Stock Down 1.0%

ZTS stock traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $150.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,261,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,984,698. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $67.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.