FIL Ltd Trims Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

FIL Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,608 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 433,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $149.40 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $66.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average of $171.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Company 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.