Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Freshford Capital Management LLC

Freshford Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,438 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 55,025 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 7.0% of Freshford Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Freshford Capital Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $24,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $906,202,000 after acquiring an additional 433,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $0.63 on Monday, hitting $152.84. The stock had a trading volume of 710,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,371. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.32. The company has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $214.40.

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.