Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Buys 2,666 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,606 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up 2.2% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $26,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 214.7% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after buying an additional 562,259 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 27,671.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after buying an additional 477,602 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after buying an additional 403,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 53.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,753,000 after buying an additional 329,543 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.6 %

ZTS traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.36. 4,555,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,093,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.58.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. 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 business posted $1.15 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

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.