Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $3.90 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 1.4% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $166.96 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $74.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.57 and a 200-day moving average of $176.99.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

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