Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,873 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth approximately $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 214.7% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,662,000 after buying an additional 562,259 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 27,671.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after acquiring an additional 477,602 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after acquiring an additional 403,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 53.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,753,000 after acquiring an additional 329,543 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.7 %

ZTS opened at $145.54 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a market cap of $66.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

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.