Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Ironwood Investment Management LLC

Ironwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,354 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. Amundi increased its position in Zoetis by 46.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $161.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $166.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.19. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.