Magnetar Financial LLC Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,408 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,471 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,852,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 7.3% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $253,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.75. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.