Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $2.13 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 206,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its position in Zoetis by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 252,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,146,000 after purchasing an additional 20,677 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 34,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,606,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $149.40 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.22. The firm has a market cap of $66.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.