KPP Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,646 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $196,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $157.41 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $160.10 and its 200 day moving average is $163.02. The firm has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.13.

About Zoetis

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.