NS Partners Ltd Has $28.95 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

NS Partners Ltd grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 177,698 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,910 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for about 1.2% of NS Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $28,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $170.34 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.83. 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 capitalization of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.32 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.