National Bank of Canada FI Buys 16,577 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,148 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,577 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.07% of Zoetis worth $60,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Zoetis by 214.7% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,662,000 after purchasing an additional 562,259 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 27,671.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,605,000 after acquiring an additional 477,602 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,764,000 after acquiring an additional 403,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Zoetis by 53.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company's stock worth $163,753,000 after acquiring an additional 329,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,007,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,073. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.86. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 27.38%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

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.