Allworth Financial LP Increases Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1,677.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,710 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,251 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 120,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 12,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,354,000 after buying an additional 21,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.5 %

ZTS opened at $157.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.79.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

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.