Qtron Investments LLC Buys 3,375 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Qtron Investments LLC has increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 65%, acquiring an additional 3,375 shares to total 8,571 shares, valued at approximately $1.41 million.
• Several institutional investors have also expanded their positions in Zoetis, with 92.80% of the stock owned by institutions, highlighting strong interest from the investment community.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly earnings surprise, with $1.76 earnings per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.62, and announced a dividend of $0.50 per share.

Qtron Investments LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 65.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,571 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 79.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Zoetis by 87.6% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 141.4% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 614.6% in the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $154.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. 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 $154.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.03.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

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.

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