Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,173 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,204 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $61,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $161.74 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.44. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.