Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 15.0%, owning a total of 44,048 shares valued at approximately $7.25 million by the end of the reporting period.
• Multiple analysts recently downgraded their ratings for Zoetis, with Stifel Nicolaus changing from a "buy" to a "hold" and adjusting the price target from $165 to $160.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 1.32%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,048 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 180.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock worth $68,354,000 after acquiring an additional 21,470 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1,269.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 267,679 shares of the company's stock worth $43,613,000 after acquiring an additional 248,131 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock worth $40,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,152 shares of the company's stock worth $40,757,000 after acquiring an additional 15,298 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.40. 3,145,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,061,625. The firm has a market cap of $65.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.63.

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.