First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 134.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,496 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 59,990 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Zoetis were worth $17,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,926,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,489,611. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $158.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.98. The company has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Sell-side 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 Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $214.40.

Zoetis 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.