Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 250,152 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,298 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $40,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $151.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.71 and a 200-day moving average of $173.58. The stock has a market cap of $67.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.