GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 25.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 2,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 47,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,234,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $4.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.56. 4,072,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,065,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $68.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $218.00.

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.