Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $9 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after acquiring an additional 433,429 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $165.12 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.87. The firm has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % 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 valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.