Northern Trust Corp Purchases 755,893 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 755,893 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.42% of Zoetis worth $1,047,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.43. 2,654,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,466,862. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.41. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. 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 (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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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.