SpiderRock Advisors LLC Invests $368,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Zoetis by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,074 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,757,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,923,000 after purchasing an additional 797,884 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,953,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,564,000 after purchasing an additional 600,804 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.49. 517,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,922,645. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.75.

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.