Fayez Sarofim & Co Purchases 143,225 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,174,143 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143,225 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $191,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $148.64 on Monday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.66. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’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 transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.