Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Platform Technology Partners

Platform Technology Partners increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 124.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,313 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the quarter. Platform Technology Partners' holdings in Zoetis were worth $875,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 79.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.13.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:ZTS traded down $3.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $154.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,267,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,591,359. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.29%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Company 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.