Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $4.82 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,416 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Zoetis by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,796,694 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Zoetis by 171.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $176,219,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.3 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $146.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $145.80 and a one year high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

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.