Duality Advisers LP Buys 19,054 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 206.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,282 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,054 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises approximately 0.6% of Duality Advisers LP's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Duality Advisers LP's holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company's stock worth $16,308,000 after purchasing an additional 6,457 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.9% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company's stock worth $10,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company's stock worth $36,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Zoetis by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company's stock worth $21,374,000 after purchasing an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $6.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.50. 6,228,859 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,674,485. The company has a market capitalization of $67.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $175.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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