Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT has acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. valued at approximately $4.98 million, purchasing 30,267 shares during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their positions in Zoetis, with institutional investors now owning 92.80% of the company's stock.
• Zoetis recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 30,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,983,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $339,111,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4,158.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,824,967 shares of the company's stock worth $300,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,110 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock worth $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $178,688,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Zoetis by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after buying an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related 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 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. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.25.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,578,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,116,346. The firm has a market cap of $66.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $156.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. 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.