GFG Capital LLC Increases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GFG Capital LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the quarter. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 2,590,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,066,000 after acquiring an additional 18,943 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $916,000. Finally, First Merchants Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 946.4% during the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 25,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,119,000 after acquiring an additional 22,865 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $165.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $169.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.00.

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.