Mutual Advisors LLC Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,470 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $159.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $161.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid 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 1.26%. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

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.

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