Lafayette Investments Inc. Takes $203,000 Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Zoetis by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after buying an additional 2,796,694 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,464,000 after buying an additional 27,097 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Zoetis by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,804,000 after buying an additional 196,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $745,861,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were 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 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 is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Down 3.3 %

Zoetis stock traded down $5.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.03. 2,085,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,974,174. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $147.11 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

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.