Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Purchases 340 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 89.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Zoetis by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 124,281.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 171.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,219,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $153.11 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $148.48 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. 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 cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.