Gladius Capital Management LP Purchases New Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after buying an additional 297,044 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,804,000 after purchasing an additional 196,771 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,026,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,553,000 after purchasing an additional 91,713 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,428,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,512,000 after purchasing an additional 32,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,126,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,736,000 after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $3.21 on Thursday, reaching $168.13. 2,108,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,184,266. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a market cap of $76.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.