Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,293 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,537 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $21,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company's stock worth $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Zoetis by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company's stock worth $1,593,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,796,694 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,370 shares of the company's stock worth $1,617,464,000 after acquiring an additional 27,097 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company's stock worth $1,068,804,000 after acquiring an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $745,861,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $6.66 on Friday, hitting $146.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,228,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,032,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $175.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.02. The company has a market capitalization of $66.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.75.

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.