SSA Swiss Advisors AG Invests $3.02 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

SSA Swiss Advisors AG purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,015,000. Zoetis comprises 1.5% of SSA Swiss Advisors AG's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 79.3% in 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 during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 87.6% in 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 during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 141.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS traded up $1.61 on Friday, reaching $147.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,145,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,061,682. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.82 and a 200-day moving average of $160.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.63.

About Zoetis

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.