Mystic Asset Management Inc. Makes New $929,000 Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after acquiring an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $166.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

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.