Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Increased by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 117,245.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,908 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,897 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $289,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $196,651,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $168.67. 3,086,400 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,370. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $157.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.43. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis 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 transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,188 shares of company stock worth $367,289. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.