Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 37,334 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 234.4%, acquiring an additional 37,334 shares to total 53,260 shares worth $8.77 million.
• In its latest earnings report, Zoetis surpassed analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.76 and quarterly revenue of $2.46 billion, reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.
• The company declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, indicating a 1.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 34.42% for the year.

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 234.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,260 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,334 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock worth $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 5,838 shares of the company's stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $154.15 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.94 and a 200-day moving average of $159.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76. 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. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.

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