Empire Life Investments Inc. Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 120,642 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for about 1.2% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $19,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $157.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.