Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 455,191 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,001,283 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 455,191 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $326,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % 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 insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.4 %

ZTS opened at $165.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.46 and its 200 day moving average is $174.87.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

About Zoetis

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.