Bellecapital International Ltd. Increases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,877 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 1.6% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $9,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Zoetis by 6.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 151,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,665,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Zoetis by 13.5% during the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 9.2% during the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $167.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $166.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.