Deutsche Bank AG Raises Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 4.5% during the first quarter, owning approximately 3,017,649 shares worth $496.9 million.
• Zoetis reported $1.76 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and representing a 4.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.4%, with a payout ratio of 35.91%.

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,017,649 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,675 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.68% of Zoetis worth $496,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock worth $6,842,222,000 after purchasing an additional 189,287 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,293,000 after purchasing an additional 109,791 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment grew its position in Zoetis by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock worth $782,064,000 after acquiring an additional 325,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,408,542 shares of the company's stock worth $725,866,000 after buying an additional 312,746 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $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 has a 50 day moving average price of $156.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.80. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. 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 business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners cut 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.