abrdn plc Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,025,318 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,308 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.22% of Zoetis worth $202,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 92.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock traded down $6.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $146.50. The company had a trading volume of 6,228,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,674,485. The company has a market capitalization of $67.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

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.