Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 66.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 461,181 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.05% of Zoetis worth $37,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after acquiring an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company's stock worth $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company's stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $214.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $0.74 on Thursday, reaching $157.38. 4,348,259 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,299,286. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.29.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities 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. 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 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.