52,919 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 52,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,622,000. Zoetis makes up 0.5% of Virtu Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,595,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $1,407,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 117,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,177,000 after buying an additional 38,300 shares during the period. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.2 %

Zoetis stock opened at $162.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.52.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was 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 worth $312,254 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.