Private Advisor Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,593 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its position 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 buying an additional 562,259 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 27,671.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,605,000 after buying an additional 477,602 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,764,000 after buying an additional 403,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Zoetis by 53.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,753,000 after buying an additional 329,543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $3.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $168.13. 2,108,446 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,184,266. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.83. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $211.75.

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.