Bell Asset Management Ltd Purchases 4,371 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,581 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 1.2% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.9 %

ZTS opened at $151.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $67.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.71 and its 200 day moving average is $173.26. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.69 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % 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 worth $312,254 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis 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.