AKO Capital LLP Boosts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AKO Capital LLP grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,505,938 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,800 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for approximately 3.4% of AKO Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. AKO Capital LLP owned 0.33% of Zoetis worth $245,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $162.56 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.94. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month 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 capitalization of $72.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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 report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.