E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,403 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,804,000 after purchasing an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Zoetis by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,026,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,553,000 after purchasing an additional 91,713 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Zoetis by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,428,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,512,000 after purchasing an additional 32,918 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,126,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,736,000 after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares during the period. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. HSBC reduced their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target 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 lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $168.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,145,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,184,266. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $76.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.83.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

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.