Vanguard Group Inc. Has $6.84 Billion Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 0.5%, owning approximately 41.6 million shares valued at about $6.84 billion, representing 9.31% of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Mackenzie Financial Corp. and GAMMA Investing LLC, made significant purchases of Zoetis shares, with holdings increasing dramatically during the first quarter.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings of $1.76 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 1.4%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 189,287 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.31% of Zoetis worth $6,842,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 4.4% in the first quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.6%

ZTS stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,062,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,804,772. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $156.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners cut 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 research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 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.