Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,251 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,016 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $22,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $178,688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $153.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.47. 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 $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

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.

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