Empire Life Investments Inc. Buys New Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empire Life Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 188.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 260 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Zoetis by 15.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 200,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,952,000 after purchasing an additional 26,813 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 50.1% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 562.3% in the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 363.6% in the third quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ZTS traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $168.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,042,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,148,070. The company has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $165.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC dropped their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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