Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $200.06 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,215,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,775 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up about 2.0% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.27% of Zoetis worth $200,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.27 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.01. The company has a market capitalization of $73.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.