Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,508 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $35,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.67. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.