Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Increases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 565,699 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,950 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.12% of Zoetis worth $111,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 132,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 110,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 55,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $153.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,555,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,093,786. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.58. The company has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

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.