Empirical Finance LLC Has $2.84 Million Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,757 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 89.1% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Zoetis by 371.4% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Zoetis Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $1.30 on Friday, reaching $179.04. 1,608,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,890,553. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.13 and a 200 day moving average of $177.49. The company has a market capitalization of $81.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% 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.