Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,711 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 524,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,567,000 after acquiring an additional 12,677 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its position in Zoetis by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 144,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 125,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,380,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $170.34 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.78. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Company 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.