Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Wellington Shields & Co. LLC

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 73.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $45,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.15. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.