EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,612 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. grew 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,079. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $166.40 and its 200-day moving average is $174.55. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.