Ethic Inc. Boosts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,458 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.1 %

ZTS stock opened at $159.96 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $157.27 and its 200 day moving average is $166.22. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their target price 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 upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.13.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.