Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 672 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 1.2% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $18,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $156.43 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.