AKO Capital LLP Has $245.36 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AKO Capital LLP grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,505,938 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,800 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 3.4% of AKO Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. AKO Capital LLP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $245,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $824,321,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group assumed 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. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $162.56 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $166.55 and its 200-day moving average is $174.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $72.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

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.