Select Equity Group L.P. Boosts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 130.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,703 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,455 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $30,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th 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. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $178,688,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. 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 $156.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.43. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.