AIA Group Ltd Purchases 4,983 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,367 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,983 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $163.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 $200.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.40 and its 200 day moving average is $174.44.

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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % 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 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.