Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 80.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 90.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Zoetis by 24.1% during 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 in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.83. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Company 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.