Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. increased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,369,417 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 117,724 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 0.7% of Axa S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Axa S.A. owned 0.30% of Zoetis worth $223,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company'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 owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $157.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $158.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.

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