Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 0.4%, owning 2,354,804 shares valued at approximately $387.67 million, as disclosed in its most recent 13F filing.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.76 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.62, with quarterly revenues of $2.46 billion, a 4.2% increase compared to the same period last year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,354,804 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,828 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.53% of Zoetis worth $387,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 180.4% during 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 during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,354,000 after buying an additional 21,470 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Zoetis by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 734,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,712,000 after buying an additional 16,107 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2%

ZTS stock traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $152.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,158,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,678,922. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 released 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 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.