Wills Financial Group LLC Makes New $3.44 Million Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC purchased 20,890 shares of Zoetis Inc., valued at approximately $3,440,000, making it the 26th largest position in the company's portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 92.80% of Zoetis stock, indicating strong institutional support for the company.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Zoetis, with price targets ranging from $155.00 to $210.00, while its current consensus rating stands at "Moderate Buy".

Wills Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,440,000. Zoetis makes up 1.5% of Wills Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $324,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $3,351,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 700 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Zoetis by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 109,778 shares of the company's stock worth $18,075,000 after acquiring an additional 52,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth $369,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZTS. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $148.11. 3,759,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,129,558. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $65.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $157.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 57.16%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Zoetis's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

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.