Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 465,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,590 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for about 1.5% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Zoetis worth $75,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business'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 value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.29. 1,583,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,499,127. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average is $166.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.