Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,946,708 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,739 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 2.2% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned 0.43% of Zoetis worth $317,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

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Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.37. The stock had a trading volume of 762,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,593,443. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.26 and its 200 day moving average is $174.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.