Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 1,241 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % 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 valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $161.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.05.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.