Brighton Jones LLC Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,127 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after buying an additional 297,044 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,804,000 after acquiring an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,998,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,744,000 after acquiring an additional 150,918 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,026,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,553,000 after acquiring an additional 91,713 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,428,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,512,000 after purchasing an additional 32,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $216.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $158.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.86. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% 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.