Fisher Funds Management LTD Purchases 20,054 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fisher Funds Management LTD boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,960 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,054 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 1.7% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned 0.10% of Zoetis worth $70,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 24.7% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $37,298,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 431,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,371,000 after purchasing an additional 62,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.13.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.1%

Zoetis stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $159.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,375,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,569,728. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $161.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.20. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $70.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.