Perennial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,751,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ZTS traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $168.95. 1,434,744 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,518,988. The firm has a market cap of $75.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

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.