Nuveen LLC Takes $616.38 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC made a significant investment of $616.38 million in Zoetis Inc. by acquiring over 3.7 million shares during the 1st quarter, increasing its holdings to about 0.84%.
• Several large investors, including Cornerstone Planning Group LLC and Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd., also increased their stakes in Zoetis, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, with $1.76 earnings per share and revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 4.2% growth compared to the previous year.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,743,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $616,375,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.84% of Zoetis at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:ZTS traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $149.58. The stock had a trading volume of 230,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,103,220. The business's fifty day moving average is $156.30 and its 200 day moving average is $159.57. The company has a market cap of $66.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.25.

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.