Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $723,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $163.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.20 and its 200 day moving average is $173.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last 90 days. 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.