AJOVista LLC Buys Shares of 687 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Zoetis by 214.7% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after acquiring an additional 562,259 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 27,671.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,605,000 after acquiring an additional 477,602 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after purchasing an additional 403,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 53.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,753,000 after purchasing an additional 329,543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ZTS traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,007,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,073. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.84. The stock has a market cap of $76.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.03%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $216.13.

Zoetis 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.