Virtu Financial LLC Invests $8.62 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 52,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,622,000. Zoetis comprises about 0.5% of Virtu Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Zoetis by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth 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. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on 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 upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $162.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.52.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis 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.