L & S Advisors Inc Has $2.59 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,905 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $824,321,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Zoetis by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after acquiring an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 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, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

ZTS stock opened at $163.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.55. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ZTS. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.