Sfmg LLC Purchases Shares of 1,356 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sfmg LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Zoetis by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,395,000 after buying an additional 2,796,694 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,778,000 after buying an additional 2,330,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 171.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $176,219,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $151.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.39. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.48 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

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.