Voleon Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,609,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $157.43. 2,654,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,464,692. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.22. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

About Zoetis

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.