Capital World Investors Has $1.79 Billion Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,064,158 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,798 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 1.97% of Zoetis worth $1,788,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 9.3% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $234,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $1,750,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 0.4% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 15,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4.6% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,519,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $3.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $175.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,850,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,018,399. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.88.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

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

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.